


play with your heartbeat, know my heartbeat

by kingchi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, M/M, Modeling, Photography, Relationship(s), straight up cheese
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-13 12:09:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11759556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingchi/pseuds/kingchi
Summary: just a long ass ride with a photographer and his model.





	1. i saw an angel

Jaehyun rolled around in his king sized bed, trying to deepen his body and face into the warm cushion as the noise that was trying to bring him back to consciousness kept blaring in his ears. This would be the first time in months where he would be sleeping on a bed instead of the hard, cold ground in a humid area or a cramped plane seat much too small for his long legs. It was safe to say that he was not planning on joining the world of the living anytime soon and had a personal duty to mend the broken relationship he had with his neglected bed. 

 

He groaned and grabbed another fluffy pillow that was at his side and shoved it above the back of his head. Jaehyun pulled both sides of the pillow over him, and tightened his grip as the ringing grew louder. He was face down and had his head sandwiched in between two thick, white pillows. 

 

_Ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore it._

 

Minutes passed, and no matter how long he seemed to pretend not to hear anything, the persistent ringing of his cellphone never stopped. The familiar ringtone of _“Oh Daddy”_ on repeat that he almost died recording kept going and going and going. It was clear that the person on the other line had no plans on giving up until he confronted them. 

 

Jaehyun gave up on trying to drift back into his sweet dreams of delicious pastry and bread and eventually sat up. He cursed Johnny verbally and mentally as he searched for his phone around his comforter. 

 

Before answering he checked the time, and swore at Johnny even more. It was only 7:00 AM.

 

“Fuck, dude! What do you want?”

 

“Finally! You come back to Seoul after four months and this is how you greet me?”

 

Johnny’s annoying English accented voice made him even more awake. Jaehyun massaged the bridge of his nose trying to remedy his oncoming headache. If he could see Johnny right now, he’d downright throttle him even if he was taller than Jaehyun.

 

“You forget that you called me like at least once a week while I was away to complain either about Ten or your job.”

 

“Being a manager is hard, bro. Besides, don’t act like you don’t miss me. A Jeffrey isn’t the same without his Johnny, dude.”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“I’m hanging up.”

 

Before his thumb could connect with the end option, Johnny’s frantic voice got even louder. 

 

“Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Please!”

 

Jaehyun sighed and ran a hand through his unkempt chestnut hair. Before he had left Korea, he had dyed his hair a dirty blonde but recently, his hair had gotten noticeably darker. He didn’t get a chance to wash up after leaving the airport and just crashed when he arrived at his apartment. Jaehyun made a mental note to take a long, hot shower when he had the chance. 

 

“Johnny, you don’t talk like that unless you want something from me. And from all of these sad, sad, _sad_ years from knowing you, I sure as hell won’t like it. Now, I could either be coerced to do something I don’t want to do _or_ I can go back to my nice bed after a sixteen hour flight and sleep the jet lag away. Hmmm… which one sounds like a better option?”

 

Jaehyun paused a little to make it seem like he was actually thinking. He wasn’t.

 

“Yeah, I think not. Goodbye, Johnny-

 

“JAEHYUN! PLEASE! PLEASE! It’s an emergency! I really wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need you, bro. Please…”

 

Jaehyun gave out a long and tired groan. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back to the ceiling as if he were in prayer. 

 

_Goddamn it. Fucking bless me for having such a kind soul._

 

Despite his now shitty mood, he knew that Johnny wouldn’t be this determined to reach him if he didn’t really need Jaehyun’s help. If Johnny wasn’t his first and longest friend when he moved back to Korea as a child, he sure as hell wouldn’t do this for anybody else. 

 

“Seo Young fucking hoe, you’re gonna pay for this later…”

 

“Oh fuck! Thank god. Jae, you’re a fucking saint. I seriously owe you for this. Really.”

 

“Okay, so what do you want?”

 

Figuring out that he wasn’t going back to bed anytime soon, he grumpily shuffled out of bed. 

 

“Okay, so you know how I’m like a manager and stuff right? I manage models, idols, actors, sometimes athle-

 

Jaehyun rolled his eyes as he was putting a plain white tee on. Johnny had a terrible habit of beating behind the bush and his patience this morning wasn’t really the best. 

 

“Dude, just get to it.”

 

Jaehyun walked into his kitchen looking for something to drink. Despite not being home for four months, his apartment was a little disorganized. It was a hella nice apartment, don’t get him wrong, he was being paid very well as a top professional photographer but he just doesn’t have time to clean up or unpack ALL of his boxes. He was always traveling for different gigs after all. 

 

“Right, right… I manage this model, Lee Taeyong. Hard to believe, right? Anyways, Taeyong has a shoot this week-

 

Jaehyun raised a brow as he took a drink from an orange juice carton he grabbed from the fridge. Jaehyun was grateful to Johnny for restocking his place while he was gone and his mood eased up a bit.

 

“Wait. Wait, who?”

 

“Dude, catch up. Lee Taeyong. I’m not even joking. I couldn’t even believe it when he signed with our agency three months ago. I was so nervous around him when they assigned me as his manager, it was so much pressure, but he’s actually really really different from how he looks-

 

Jaehyun set the carton down, wiped his chin with his wrist and leaned against his marble countertop. He was trying to repeat the named in his mind, trying to see if he knew the guy but nothing even vaguely familiar came up. 

 

Jaehyun thought back to the people that Johnny managed and tried to remember which one he was talking about last. _Wasn't he managing Oh Sehun?_

 

“Hold up. Stop talking for a minute. Johnny, I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

 

“…”

 

Jaehyun felt like his eyes were gonna pop out of his head from rolling it too much. It was always around Johnny. He shook his head. Johnny was such a drama queen sometimes that Jaehyun thinks that Ten really was rubbing off on him.

 

“When you’re done having your dramatical silences, please feel free to explain.”

 

Johnny spluttered a little before responding. 

 

“Dude. Lee Taeyong. _Lee Taeyong._ L-E-E—T-A-E-Y-O-N-G. _Lee Tae fucking yong._ LEE TAEYONG-

 

“Repeating their name over and over again won’t magically make me realize who this guy is, Johnny.”

 

“Damn, I forget that you were in like South Africa for four months,” He heard Johnny mumble. 

 

Before he could say anything, Johnny continued. 

 

“Anyways, to sum it up,Lee Taeyong is a model who hella blew up like a few days after you left. Currently, he’s Korea’s number one model and is getting numerous of offers everywhere, including in other countries. He left the YG agency like three weeks into his career because his manager smacked and mistreated a fan who was trying to get to him in an airport. It blew up because YG was really trying not to let him go but he wouldn’t have it no matter how much money they threw at him. He moved into SM, and that’s how I became his manager.”

 

He didn’t want to admit it, but Jaehyun was interested. No one’s career heated up and boosted that quickly. There were models who would be trying for months, even _years_ , and never gain an ounce of attention. On top of that, this guy apparently walked away from the biggest entertainment agency in Korea. This guy had balls, and Jaehyun was thoroughly impressed. 

 

Jaehyun shifted his feet and crossed his arms. 

 

“Okay, I get the gist, but how the hell did he blow up so quickly?”

 

“Dude, you haven’t even seen him yet. Taeyong has the visuals of a literal _god_ and his charisma is through the roof-

 

Before he could help it, Jaehyun was already laughing.

 

“Bro, you sound like Ten.”

 

He heard Johnny choke a little. 

 

“Are you kidding me? He’s even worse! He's Taeyong’s makeup artist and all I hear these days is ‘Very hot!’ It’s driving me crazy.”

 

“You know… you’re really hyping this guy up but it’s probably all due to being under the knife and having connections.”

 

Jaehyun couldn’t help but judge. He had an internship with SM when he was in college and he didn’t really have a good experience with their models. Deep down, they were all incredibly fake and money hungry people despite how they looked. At least most of them. Modeling was a competitive mess of a world he didn’t want to get involved with. He really respected their friends, Yuta and Mark. 

 

“Nah, bro. He had no plastic surgery. It’ll be hard to believe when you see his face up close, but he really is all natural, you can tell from his school pictures. And actually, he had a lot of offers when he was still in school, he even got chosen by an idol scout, but he declined all of them. I’m telling you, man… he’s something.”

 

Jaehyun was reluctant but filed away all of the information he had heard for later. He still wanted to mess with Johnny a little though.

 

He smirked, making the dimples on his cheeks known.

 

“Cheating on Ten?”

 

“WHAT?”

 

He can already imagine Johnny being a mess of a man and chuckled. 

 

“I’m not gay!”

 

Jaehyun sighed and silently prayed for Ten. It was so obvious that those two have a thing for each other. Ten had a patience of a monk, and he just hoped that Johnny would stop being in denial soon.

 

“Anyways, explain what you need me for again?”

 

"Oh right. Taeyong has a shoot in three days for Vogue but the photographer…”

 

“No.”

 

“Jaehyun! Don’t say no before I’m even done, bro.”

 

“I’m not filling in for the photographer, Johnny.”

 

“Okay, but dude the photographer who was supposed to come in has a massive case of explosive diarrhea and I mean MASSIVE, like I could smell his shits through the phone. We could’ve found someone else if he had cancelled sooner but he was really insistent on photographing for Taeyong. I mean, I get it, cancelling a massive shoot for Korea’s top model would be insane, but if I have to stand next to a man who’ll have to wear a diaper and _shitting_ as we speak, I will literally die. I’ll die, Jae!”

 

Jaehyun had burst out laughing halfway through Johnny’s speech. The whole situation was too ridiculous to not to. 

 

“I mean.. it sounds like he’s still down to do it. Let the man live.”

 

“Dude, it’s not funny. I’m serious, I will literally get on my knees if you want me to. Even if this guy came in, he’s not in a state where he would do well. These shots have to literally be perfect, he’s gonna be on the fucking cover. If I don’t find someone to replace him in like five hours, I’ll lose my job. If I bring this literally shitty photographer, I’ll lose my job. Jaehyun, I’m freaking out, man. Please….”

 

Jaehyun felt a little guilty for laughing at his friend’s dire situation and tried to be more serious. 

 

“Johnny, listen man. You’re my best friend and you’re a brother to me. If it were landscape, wildlife, aerial, travel, street, or hell, even food photography, I would totally hop on board, no questions asked. You wouldn’t even have to pay me. But you’re asking me to do fashion and portrait photography. That's something I haven't done in _years_. If I came in, I would be just as bad or even worse than the explosive diarrhea guy.”

 

It was true. Fashion photography was not his specialty. While he had done them in college, he didn’t particularly enjoy them. Jaehyun strongly believed that if you were photographing something that you weren’t enjoying, the people who would be looking at the photos wouldn’t be enjoying them either. While his photos back then were acceptable, it didn’t sit right with him so he had dropped the internship. Ever since then, his photography was practically used in everything but people and fashion.

 

There was silence for a while before Johnny’s voice rang out in Jaehyun’s kitchen.

 

“So, you’re telling me that the only reason that you’re not doing the job is because you’re not confident in your abilities to do people photography well?”

 

Jaehyun was confused where he was going with this but muttered out a ‘yes’.

 

“Okay, come into the agency before noon to sign some papers for the shoot. I need you to sign them to make sure that you’re credited and paid properly by the company- 

 

“Wait, wait. Did you just hear anything that I just said?”

 

“Uh, yes.”

 

“Dude, I’m gonna cost you your job.”

 

“Jae, you may not be confident about your abilities in this, but I am. You’re the best damn photographer I know, and if I’m going out this way, then I’ll at least do it with my bro.”

 

Jaehyun was touched by his friend’s faith in him. They may fool around with each other a lot, but they knew that they always had each others’ backs. Their bond was deeper than blood.

 

Jaehyun sighed for nth time that morning.

 

“…Fine.”

 

Pulling his phone away from his ear, he heard Johnny’s victorious shout in glee even as it was held back by his arm as far as possible.

 

“Jae, you're the best. I love you, man. Did I tell you how handsome you looked today? Oh, I saw your pictures on _Time_ magazine man, that picture of that… monkey was pretty sick!”

 

“You haven't seen how I looked in four months, and it was a picture of an African bush elephant, but nice try. I’ll come in but don’t blame me if I come in five minutes before noon, you did wake me up and I’m running on two hours of sleep. See you, then.”

 

“THANK YOU-

 

Jaehyun hung up and walked back to his bedroom. He made an alarm for 11:00 AM and set his cellphone on his bedside table. He finally reunited with his bed and that was all that mattered at the moment. Jaehyun will worry about the Lee Taeyong shit preferably much later. 

 

—

 

The next time Jaehyun woke up, it was already 11:40 and he was frantically trying put his vans on at the door. The alarm wasn’t the problem, it actually woke him up but he forgot about his plans and ended up pressing snooze. 

 

Giving up on his laces and just stuffing them inside his shoes, he grabbed his house keys as well as his motorcycle keys and headed for the parking lot. Halfway through his walk he realized he left his phone and cursed loudly, startling an elderly woman who was on her way to her car. He gave her an apologetic glance and sprinted back to his place. 

 

Jaehyun looked at his reflection on the elevator walls and groaned. 

 

He looked like a total _slob_.

 

One side of his nappy hair was sticking up and he had even bigger eye bags than usual. He was wearing a now orange juice stained white shirt and light gray worn out Nike sweats. Jaehyun was wearing only one silver piercing in one ear and he realized his shoes were both different colors. 

 

_Fuck. Johnny, I’m sorry if they kick me out because I look homeless…_

 

By the time that he had gotten onto his motorcycle and was waiting at his first stoplight, it was already 11:50. Before his phone started ringing he already knew that it’d be Johnny and put it on silent before getting on the road. If it wasn’t on silent he probably would’ve crashed, but now he wished that he left his phone at home because his thigh was now violently vibrating. 

 

Fortunately, the agency wasn’t too far away from where he lived and had arrived there at 11:55. Johnny was gonna give him an earful for being late. 

 

Jaehyun didn’t want to waste time at the front desk so he crawled on his knees to the elevator when the receptionist wasn’t looking. Being near wildlife for such a long time gave him a few extra advantages. 

 

Johnny’s office was on the third floor of the main building so it didn’t take that long for the elevator to get there. As soon as a _ding_ was heard and the elevator opened enough for him to rush through, he ran through the halls looking for his friend’s labeled door. 

 

A couple of people who worked at the agency gave him funny looks but went about their day as if there wasn’t a homeless looking man running around the halls panting like a dog. 

 

He tripped over his laces at least four times before finding the corner that led to Johnny’s office. Finding his goal, he ran even faster and sped off. 

 

Right when he turned the corner, he bumped into someone coming from Johnny’s office and the two bodies collided violently. 

 

On top of ungracefully falling on his ass, the person he bumped into was also carrying a cup of coffee. 

 

_Hot_ coffee. Coffee that was hotter than the lava in Mt. Fuji, coffee that was now soaking through his already stained shirt and seeping into his skin. 

 

Jaehyun gave a yelp and ripped off his shirt. 

 

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry!” 

 

If he was actually focusing on that moment Jaehyun would’ve heard a soothing voice laced in concern but he was too busy wiping off the coffee off of his chest to notice what the other person was saying. 

 

The other person was on his knees in front of Jaehyun and awkwardly had his hands out in front of him, not knowing whether or not to help the victim of his now spilled coffee. 

 

Hearing a throat clear, Jaehyun looked up when he finished cleaning his body as well as he could. 

 

The guy in front of him was wearing black matte combat boots with white laces, ripped black jeans, a white Bape shirt, and an all too big, black flannel that dwarfed a small frame. He had thick black framed glasses that covered up half of his face. Even with the glasses, Jaehyun noticed the man’s small button nose, sharp cupid bow on top of a nice set of lips, and the darkest and most prettiest eyes he thinks he’s ever seen. On top of his head was a red beanie, and Jaehyun _thinks_ he even sees wisps of light _pink_ hair on the sides of the guy’s face. 

 

Jaehyun was in awe of how cute this guy looked. In fact, he was too busy staring at him to remember the pain in his ass and the burn on his body.

 

To say that the other man was flustered would be an understatement. First, by Jaehyun’s piercing stare, second, by his exposed sculpted abs, and third, by the fact that he knocked down one of the hottest men he’s ever seen. He looked down in bashfulness and fiddled with his fingers. He had half a mind to curl into a ball right there and start biting his nails. 

 

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t even see you there. I even spilled my coffee on you. I’m sorry! Are you okay? Fuck, of course not, your skin’s all red. Let me get you some ice- 

 

The man looked comical, trying to do everything at once while still trying to avoid eye contact with Jaehyun. 

 

“Oh shit! It’s already noon… I’m sorry, I have to go or I’m gonna be late. I’ll clean your shirt though and give it back later. Sorry again!” 

 

The man abruptly stood up and grabbed the wet shirt. 

 

Jaehyun barely felt the soiled shirt being tugged out of his hands but he did notice the guy running away with it and tripping on air on his way to the elevator. Before he left though, he walked backwards, smiled shyly and nervously waved at Jaehyun. Even though he almost backed into someone, Jaehyun still thought it was the cutest thing he had ever seen and he had seen both Mark _and_ Winwin’s aegyo.

 

Still sitting on the floor shirtless and a little bit dumbfounded, he had forgotten about the time and what he was there for again. 

 

Just then, Johnny’s office door slammed open so hard that the handle probably made a dent into the wall. The man himself walked out, giving Jaehyun a deadly glare. There was practically steam coming out of his ears.

 

Jaehyun rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. 

 

“Uh… sorry?”

 

Jaehyun felt both of his arms being pulled out of their sockets and dragged inside the office of Hell. He was silently praying for the literal angel he had bumped into to come back and save him.

 

The door slammed close behind him and he shrunk back trying to look for any emergency exits. He was seriously worried for his health.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol i told myself i wouldn't write fics anymore because i wasn't gonna be that committed but this ship keeps fucking me up.  
> i know this type of plot is pretty common but i wanted to put my own spin on it bc why not ya kno  
> just for shits n giggly doos, don't take it too srsly (:
> 
> ty for reading this mess


	2. my heart is about to explode, heartbreaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny protec
> 
> He attac
> 
>  
> 
> But most importantly,
> 
>  
> 
> He thicc
> 
>  
> 
> jk (probably?) just another mess of a chapter

“What time is it?”

 

Johnny’s voice was the epitome of calm. His deep voice was loud and clear as it vibrated against the poster clad walls of his medium sized office. He was half sitting, half leaning against his desk with his legs crossed and with both of his hands in his pockets. 

 

_Not good._

 

From years of experience, Jaehyun knew Johnny wasn’t the type of person to scream or shout at someone. Actually, he takes that back, Johnny will scream and shout at you if he was either excited about something that was probably dumb or he was pretending to be mad. And well, if he was genuinely distressed or say, _angry_ at something or someone, he would become as quiet as a mime. 

 

A quiet Johnny wasn’t something that came around often, and while Jaehyun would usually be grateful for a phenomena occurring, this wasn’t a situation he wanted to happen at all. Quiet Johnny was a scary Johnny. He shuddered thinking about the last time his friend was truly aggravated. Jaehyun’s wallet had shrunk to a paper thin size, buying and ordering _tons_ of Chicago based food for at least almost a month before Johnny returned to normal again. On countless occasions, people had told him he was a _hearty_ eater, whatever that meant, but they have obviously never seen Johnny at an all-you-can-eat buffet. If Jaehyun was a pig, Johnny was a _mammoth_.

 

“Jaehyun.” Johnny’s relaxed voice brought him back to the present, reminding him that he had no idea to approach the situation that was in front of him. 

 

_Better play it safe_.

 

Jaehyun tried to look less like he was constipated and more as if he was having a casual visit at his friend’s office. He gave a shaky smile.

 

“Yes?”

 

“I asked you a question.”

 

“Oh… Umm…”

 

Jaehyun’s eyes searched around the office trying to spot a familiar digital clock. When he spotted it, he wanted to jump out a window.

 

“It’s uh, oh, I don't know… a couple of seconds after 12?”

 

An eye twitched. 

 

Johnny uncrossed his legs, his face unreadable. Jaehyun totally didn’t flinch.

 

“Check again.”

 

Jaehyun gave up. Nothing could get past Johnny at this point, he’d just get called out on his bullshit. It was his fault after all anyways, it would better to just own up to his mistake. 

 

Jaehyun scratched the back of his neck nervously before starting what he hoped was a sincere sounding apology.

 

“Johnny… man, I’m sorry. I told you I was gonna be here before noon and I fucked up. Do you… like, still have your job or….?”

 

Jaehyun awkwardly trailed off. If Johnny seriously lost his job because of him, he would feel like the biggest piece of shit in the planet. Like, this would be worse than the time that Jaehyun put laxatives in Mufasa’s dog bowl. Johnny gave him hell for that. The pudgy boston terrier had started a shitfest in their old college dorm room and had almost gotten them caught for breaking the rules and keeping a pet in their room when it wasn’t allowed. Mufasa now happily rests in Johnny’s place, shit routine being normal, he may add, but he did tarnish Johnny’s reputation by saying the putrid smell came from Johnny having a weird obsession with drinking spoiled milk. 

 

_Wow, I’m fucked up._

 

While he was having an internal issue with moral dilemmas and getting off track, Johnny responded to his apology with a long drawn out, tired sigh. Jaehyun felt a boulder lift off his shoulder when Johnny gave out a smile, a small one, but still a smile nonetheless. 

 

“You are so lucky that I’m a genius at forging signatures…”

 

Jaehyun felt a smile of his own forming on his face. 

 

“So, that means…”

 

Johnny laughed a little.

 

“I still have my job, honey boo boo. I signed your shit for you, at least all the required ones for the company today. You’ll probably have to sign more stuff tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, if you’re late again tomorrow, I’ll seriously castrate you this time.”

 

Jaehyun chuckled in relief and happiness. He was glad everything turned out for the best. 

 

After looking at his best friend in person for the first time in months, he was overcome with emotion. No matter how many times he insisted that Johnny only pestered him when he called and facetimed him on his trips, he really did miss the other boy. Jaehyun was a photographer who usually took trips by himself, while he did meet a lot of people from different countries and cultures, in the end, he’d have to pack up his gear and leave, just like routine. Having Johnny as a permanent factor to talk to made the loneliness bearable. 

 

They both grinned at each other before tackling each other in a bro hug. 

 

Jaehyun clapped his back, Johnny hit him harder. 

 

He grunted. _Okay, he wasn’t even going to pretend he didn’t deserve that._

 

“Bro! How was Africa? Did you bring me back a giraffe?”

 

Jaehyun rolled his eyes but laughed anyways.

 

“You wish. What happened to your face? And I thought I looked bad today.”

 

Seeing Johnny up close, Jaehyun could tell that the other boy wasn’t taking care of himself properly. He had dark, deep eye bags, a pale almost sickly shade of skin on his face and his usually styled hair was out of place. His normally ironed white button down was wrinkled and he was wearing khakis. KHAKIS. If that isn’t wrong, Jaehyun doesn’t know what’s right in life anymore.

 

“Not any better than you, asshole. But yeah, I look like shit. This project has been really stressing me out.”

 

Jaehyun instantly felt bad and he guesses that it showed on his face because not a second later, Johnny pipes up to reassure him. 

 

“Dude, don’t worry about it anymore. You’re already helping me out so much, take it easy.”

 

“I’ll make it up to you. Let’s spend the paycheck ordering the most unhealthiest crap and binge watching all of the shows I’ve missed. I know you’ll have a field day with that. ”

 

Johnny laughed and cheerfully agreed, he already looked much better than when Jaehyun had first walked in. 

 

As they were catching up on all of the events and topics he’d missed while being out of Korea, Jaehyun suddenly remembers the pink haired boy he ran into earlier. He assumed that the boy was an intern from his casual clothes and the coffee he was holding. Jaehyun decides to bring it up to Johnny to see if he could get a name and _possibly_ a number. I mean, he _did_ need his white shirt back, even though he had like fifty but no one needed to know that. 

 

“Oh, by the way, did you finally get an intern or assistant or something? I ran into him on my way here and damn, I didn’t know people could even look like that…”

 

It was true, Jaehyun had to double check if he was hallucinating or imagining things, because people that pretty and cute couldn’t have possibly existed. The meeting was so short but it made such a strong, lasting impression on him. 

 

Johnny’s eyebrows raised up so high, it probably could’ve flew off his hairline. 

 

“Jung Jaehyun… are you… interested in someone?”

 

Jaehyun groaned. 

 

“Back up, dude. He just… looked really nice is all…”

 

Johnny picked up his phone and started dialing at the speed of light.

 

“… What are you doing?”

 

Johnny completely ignored him.

 

When the person he was calling answered, he immediately went in with a flurry of enthusiastic sentences.

 

“TEN. Jaehyun’s in my office asking about some cute intern! He said they looked REALLY NICE. The last time he complimented someone he told them they had nice thumbs! He’s growing up! Oh my god, I’m such a proud dad-

 

Jaehyun smacked the phone of Johnny’s hand. Oh god, Johnny as his dad, let alone a _dad_ was a thought he could think about when he wanted to avoid a boner in public. Not that that was a regular occurrence, but _just in case_. 

 

“So, like… do you know him? He kind of took my shirt when he spilled coffee on me…”

 

Johnny smirked and Jaehyun cringed. 

 

“We both know that you could care less about the shirt and more about taking his off-

 

“Stop! Man, it’s like I tell you one sentence and you write an entire textbook with it.”

 

Johnny’s eyes crinkled as he barked out a laugh.

 

“Damn, I must be out of it today, I didn’t even notice you coming in shirtless. Let me grab you a spare…”

 

Johnny ruffled through his drawers until he pulled out a neatly folded white collar button up shirt that matched the one he was wearing. 

 

“Woah… since when did you fold?”

 

Johnny chuckled as Jaehyun buttoned up the shirt and thanked him. He didn’t even care that he was wearing it with sweatpants. It was a weird combination but at this point, he just wanted to look at least semi-normal.

 

“I don’t. It was Taeyong, he’s surprisingly a clean freak and once he walked into my office he instantly demanded to clean it. I swear, the dude has a Febreeze holster somewhere on his body.”

 

Jaehyun raised a brow and leaned back against the door. He looked around the office, he was so used to Johnny’s definition of _clean_ that he didn’t notice that the office was actually _clean_ clean. Like the _normal_ clean.

 

_This guy sounded…unusual, to say the least._

 

“The guy I’m gonna be photographing, right?”

 

“Yeah. Actually, if you weren’t late, you probably would have met already.”

 

“Well… where is he?”

 

“He’s getting fitted for the photoshoot right about now… which reminds me, I need to brief you on what type of shoot it is.”

 

Jaehyun nodded as he sat down on a lounge chair. 

 

It took about ten minutes of discussion but Jaehyun understood how it was going to be all set up. It was an outdoors shoot so he’d at least be a little in his element. It was gonna be in the afternoon where there was a lot of sunlight and barely no wind that could interfere with the shoot in any way. Taeyong would be in a total of three outfits and he would be shooting his shots from three different locations in the field. The photo team will consist of him and two other assistants. He had assured Johnny that he didn’t need them but the older boy just told him that he could order them however he liked since he was the main photographer. Johnny asked him if he wanted someone else to edit his photos for him but Jaehyun vehemently refused. He didn’t let _anyone_ touch his photos but him. 

 

Johnny warned him that there would be a lot of people in the set including the casting director, digital tech team, and of course, the beauty team. 

 

Jaehyun got the gist of everything but he was still curious about one tiny thing…

 

“Hey, this Taeyong guy…” Jaehyun started. Johnny blinked at him, waiting for him to continue.

 

“He’s not a dick, is he? I can deal with snobby people and keep it professional, but it would make my job so much easier if he wasn’t a complete asshole.”

 

Johnny practically cackled once he finished.

 

“Taeyong? An asshole? Jaehyun, that’s the least of your worries, I promise. The media might make him out to be a cold, unemotional person but trust me, he can’t even harm a fly.”

 

“O… kay? Do you have any pictures of this guy? I wanna know what techniques and angles he’s usually shot in.”

 

“Sure thing.”

 

Johnny pulled a few magazines and editorials from the rack next to the cactus Jaehyun had gotten him from one of his jobs in the Sahara Desert. 

 

He snapped the stack he had piled up into a thick folder and was about to hand it to Jaehyun when his phone rang. 

 

“Hold on, I gotta take this.” 

 

Johnny set the folder down on his desk before picking up the phone that was on his desk.

 

It was always amusing to see Johnny be serious, but Jaehyun knew that he had always had a professional side to him when it came to work. It was still funny to see though.

 

The call lasted about three minutes and after a game of seeing if he could break Johnny’s professional facade with his indecent gestures and the ugliest faces he could make while he was on the phone, Johnny had finally said goodbye.

 

Johnny glared at him.

 

“Not cool, dude.”

 

Jaehyun laughed at him. 

 

“Anyways, I have to go pick up Taeyong now, I have to accompany him to a meeting with one of the big shots.”

 

“Alright,” Jaehyun said as he stood up and grabbed the folder that Johnny was offering him.

 

As he walked out, he couldn’t help but say one last thing.

 

“Hey, if you ever find a cute intern wearing thick glasses, a red beanie, pink hair, and a _fine_ butt, let him know that the one and only, Jung Jaehyun, is single and ready to mingle.”

 

Jaehyun laughed at his own cheesy catchphrase (because he’s a nerd, sue him) and saluted Johnny goodbye. He turned back around the direction of the door and made his way to the elevator. 

 

The handsome twenty one year old did not turn back around as he left. But if he _did_ , he would’ve seen Johnny’s confused face mouthing the descriptions Jaehyun had listed off, turning his puzzled face into one of shock once the realization set in. 

 

Once the shock wore off his face, the evilest and slyest grin began to form on his face. Johnny’s office had filled with the loudest cackles that the entire floor had ever heard, hell, Jaehyun who was outside after having an awkward encounter with the receptionist and was now walking towards his haphazardly parked motorcycle even turned around to look for the noise. 

 

The young manager was laughing so hard he had trouble breathing and there were streaks of tears running down his face.

 

Johnny wiped the tears off his face, still slightly sniggering, and immediately turned to dial Ten again.

 

_He couldn’t wait for this shoot._

 

 

— 

 

 

The next day, Johnny had called Jaehyun, telling him to come over the office to sign a few more paperwork needed for the shoot. 

 

Jaehyun, _thankfully_ , wasn't late this time. 

 

He parked his sleek, black Ducati in the correct parking spot this time and unbuckled his non see through helmet off. 

 

The second he took his helmet off, he already felt the stares and heard the gasps he was getting from people who were just passing by. He looked much better than he did yesterday. 

 

The day before, he had looked like he had just committed double homicide and was on his way to catch his next victim. It was amazing to see what a full eight hour of sleep, a trip to his favorite restaurant and a hot shower could result in.

 

As Jaehyun stepped off of his motorcycle and began to walk towards the building in long, fluid strides, people stopped to stare and shamelessly began roaming their eyes over his body. Some even snapped a few pictures, probably thinking he was someone famous from the agency. 

 

He was dressed in a black Stussy muscle shirt that showed off his muscular arms, light blue ripped skinny jeans, and low Nike Air Force 1s. 

 

Jaehyun knew he was above average in the looks department, but he definitely wasn’t arrogant about it. It was a plus when it came to charming the socks off of whoever’s property he had trespassed when he was out with a camera. 

 

When he came pass the sliding doors, he was actually planning to sneak pass the receptionist again since it was a pain to get a visitor’s pass but her eyes were already trained on the doors. She probably heard the commotion outside and was looking out the window. 

 

Jaehyun sighed and walked up to the desk. 

 

“Hi… I’m here for Mr. Seo?” 

 

_Oh god, ew. Never saying that again._

 

She was staring at him with heart eyes for an awfully long time before she stuttered out a “y- yes, he’s expecting you, please sign h-here.”

 

Jaehyun mentally rolled his eyes before complying and curtly turning away from the desk with a short thanks and a pass in his hand. She _did_ look at him like he was a drowned rat yesterday on his way out.

 

As he waited on the elevator he couldn’t help but think about the boy he had ran into yesterday. Jaehyun wonders if he’s here. 

 

He walks out on the third floor and searches around the halls a little longer than necessary on his way to Johnny’s office to see if he could catch a glimpse of the intern that had captured his attention at first crash. 

 

Jaehyun walks into Johnny’s office a bit disappointed but immediately guards up when he sees Johnny sitting in his office chair, feet propped up on a clear spot on his desk with an all knowing grin on his face. Johnny also looked much better than he did yesterday, Jaehyun wasn’t the only person who had gotten sleep. 

 

It wasn’t Johnny’s clean appearance that caused him to guard up, but that grin…

 

He feels a shudder coming on. That type of smile from Johnny had never brought him good memories in life. 

 

“Why are you smiling like that?”

 

The grin grew even wider.

 

“Oh, no reason… just found out about something interesting…”

 

Jaehyun shook his head and just decided to let nature run its course. Whatever Johnny was planning, he doubts he could get out of it.

 

“Okay? I don’t even want to know. What do I need to sign?”

 

Jaehyun sat in the same chair as yesterday as Johnny put his feet down and began shuffling through several papers and folders that sat on top of his desk.

 

“Oh, right. Forgot about that.”

 

He pulled out five sheets of paper and began explaining what each one was for and what each one had meant. 

 

Jaehyun trusted Johnny greatly, so it wasn’t long before he began signing them one after another.

 

“So…” Johnny trailed off just as Jaehyun was signing his fourth agreement.

 

Jaehyun glanced at him with confused furrowed brows.

  
“So…?”

 

“You ever find that _intern_?”

 

Jaehyun focused his attention back on the papers once he knew that Johnny was just gonna badger him about what he had revealed yesterday.

 

“No… have you? You work here.”

 

Johnny tried to stop the smirk threatening to overcome his face.

 

“Uh, nah… I don’t know any _intern_ with pink hair, that’s crazy.”

 

Jaehyun hummed, not really paying attention after he heard that Johnny had said no.

 

Johnny began tapping his fingers on the desk in rhythmic fashion. 

 

“Oh! By the way,” Johnny piped up. “Did you look through that folder that I gave you?”

 

Jaehyun shook his head.

 

“No, I didn’t have time to. I’ll probably look through it today though…”

 

Jaehyun missed the slight panic that overtook Johnny’s face as he flipped the fifth sheet over to sign. 

 

“Oh, you don't have to do that!”

 

Jaehyun looked up at his friend’s weird, frantic tone. 

 

Johnny cleared his throat. 

 

“I mean, I gave you the wrong ones… Don’t look through those, they’re the crappy editions.”

 

Jaehyun raised an eyebrow, something was absolutely _sus_.

 

“Are you supposed to talk shit about who you work for like that? And since I’m already here, just give me the right ones right now.”

 

“Oh… haha, actually, I can’t…”

 

Johnny’s eyes drifted from at least six different places before continuing. 

 

“Yes, I can't do that because I don’t have any magazines with Taeyong in it at the moment.”

 

Jaehyun gave him an incredulous look.

 

“You’re his _manager_.”

 

Johnny stood up abruptly, startling Jaehyun. 

 

“OH, well, will you look at the time? It’s already my lunch break and I promised Ten that I’d grab a box of Thai food so… go, go, go…” 

 

Johnny began shooing Jaehyun out of his office as if he was a fly.

 

“Go do your photography things…” 

 

Johnny was shoving Jaehyun out of his office as he continued. 

 

“And I’ll bring these lovely papers up to the director. I’ll send you the time and address of the shoot, be there or _be square_. Oh, and by the way, I told Doyoung about this, and he wasn’t that happy with it so you should totally go talk to him.” 

 

Just before Johnny shut the door in his face, he was suddenly grabbed by his collar.

 

“By the way, don’t look inside that folder, if you do, I’ll know, and when I know, I’ll immediately tell the intern guy that you snorted strawberry fun dip once and cried during _Marley & Me_. In the same day!”

 

The door slammed shut and Jaehyun stood there confounded. 

 

Once he got his shit together, he banged on the door.

 

“So you’re telling me you _do_ know him?!”

 

“Seo Youngho!”

 

 

-

 

 

Jaehyun spent the next three days resting up. 

 

And by resting up, he means eating junk food, watching his favorite dramas, playing League of Legends with Winwin, and spamming Johnny’s inbox. Johnny obviously ignored him and when he called, he would make a pathetic excuse to get out of talking. Like seriously, Johnny didn’t even _have_ a parrot to feed no matter how good he thought his impressions were.

 

He had also forgotten to call Doyoung. His agent was not definitely happy with him. Jaehyun had gotten an hour lecture about accepting random jobs without his permission, signing papers without Doyoung there, and honestly, half of the time he was just being roasted. Doyoung was known for being a savage in his friend group, but this time… he just went in. 

 

_“Jaehyun, I know I’ve called you a pig numerous of times before because of your eating habits, but seriously, I didn't know you had a brain of one either!”_

 

_Damn, even over the phone, Doyoung continues to make Jaehyun feel like shit._

 

_Doyoung sighed._

 

_“Since Johnny had explained to me that it was an emergency and you were lucky enough to get this big of a client, I’ll let it slide this time. But next time I see you being this thoughtless again, no bread for a whole MONTH.”_

 

Jaehyun cowered under the threat. Bread was his _lifeline_ and his stomach grumbled at the thought of not eating it for that long.

 

Currently, he was laying on his black furnished couch listening to music and sending meme worthy pictures to his friends on Snapchat. 

 

The shoot was tomorrow and he was spending the day being as lazy as possible. He didn’t plan on taking any jobs for at least three weeks when he came back to Korea, so he felt like he greatly deserved the small break. 

 

Laughing at the seagull Mark had drawn on top of his eyebrows, he felt his eyelids droop a bit. 

 

Jaehyun picked himself off of the couch and yawned. He stretched his arms up, his shirt rising to reveal smooth white skin and hard abs.

 

He turned the music off and walked to his room.

 

Jaehyun flopped on his bed instantly grabbing a pillow to cuddle. 

 

He set an alarm and put his phone on the bedside table before shutting his lamp off.

 

_Jaehyun dreamt of eyes as dark as the night sky and cherry lips._

 

 

_-_

 

 

The morning that he woke up, Jaehyun was already dreading the day that was ahead of him. 

 

It took him a while to get up from bed but once he managed to do so, the first thing he did was brush his teeth and wash his face. 

 

He already took a shower the night before so when he was done cleaning himself up he began picking his clothes for the day. 

 

Now Jaehyun wasn’t a model or anything, but he liked to think he had at least a decent sense of fashion.

 

He went with baggy black ripped skinny jeans that had a big rip near his upper thigh and knee, a white Comme Des Garcons shirt, and a big blue denim jacket that was already well worn. He decided to stick with his natural bed head and grabbed his favorite black dad hat to wear for later. 

 

Jaehyun walked into the kitchen and pulled out several items from his fridge and cupboard.

 

Since he already knew it would be a long day, he decided on a big breakfast. 

 

On his fifth pancake, he got a call from Johnny. Still a little salty about Johnny ignoring him the past few days, Jaehyun waited until the very last ring before picking up.

 

“What’s up?”

 

“Oh, hey. You got the address right?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“Cool, what about your equipment? Are they ready? What if you get here and they’re like all low battery? Oh god, what if you get lost? I should just pick you up— 

 

Jaehyun set his fork down and sighed at his friend’s endless questioning. 

 

“Dude, don’t worry about it. They’re charged and ready to go, Doyoung should be dropping them off and any other extra shit at the site any minute now. My camera’s fine and I’m bringing the proper lenses for this type of shoot. And seriously? I’ve been in too many countries and have read too many maps in different languages to get lost in the place I was born in, give me more credit, dude.”

 

“…Sorry, man. I’ve been running around like a headless chicken all morning, it’s a mess.”

 

“It’ll work out, Johnny, don’t sweat it.”

 

“You’re right… well, tell me when you get here alright? Ride safe, bro.”

 

“I will, see you in 40.”

 

Jaehyun stood up and went to the sink to wash his dishes. 

 

Once he was done cleaning up his kitchen, he checked the time and walked to his bedroom to grab his camera bag.

 

Jaehyun tied the laces of his white vans and grabbed his keys. 

 

He sighed as he shut and locked his apartment door. 

 

 

-

 

 

_“You have arrived at your destination.”_

 

Jaehyun shut off his GPS and tried to look for a parking spot for his motorcycle. 

 

There were a lot more vehicles and trailers than he’d expected there to be so it took a while before he could find a free nearby spot. 

 

He used his foot to push the kickstand, and took off his helmet. 

 

The location of the shoot was in a park. A very nice park. Actually, it looked more like a giant garden or grove. There were green healthy grass, a cluster of trees that ranged from oak to orchids, and there was even a pond. 

 

Jaehyun mentally gave props to whoever chose the location, it was beautiful. 

 

He made his way towards the tents and trailers, trying to look for Johnny. 

 

Just as he saw the back of his friend’s familiar haircut, a force had hugged him from behind. 

 

“Jaehyun!”

 

Jaehyun turned his head around and saw a mop of black hair and a big smile. 

 

He grinned.

 

“Hey, Ten. It’s been a while.”

 

He turned around to give the other boy a proper hug. Ten’s hair had gotten shorter but it looked good on him. He was wearing a short sleeved black button up and white skinny jeans. The other boy was just as high-spirited and lively as he remembered.

 

“How was the wild? Bring me back an elephant?”

 

Jaehyun rolled his eyes.

 

“You and Johnny’s fixation on zoo animals, I swear. I didn’t bring back any animals, but I did get you guys a few souvenirs, pick it up from my place when you have the chance. I don’t know if that offer still stands for Johnny though…”

 

He turned to glare at the man who was now walking towards them. 

 

Johnny winced. 

 

“Hey, man. Still not over that? I told you I was busy, and besides, if you play nice today, you’ll meet Mr. Intern.”

 

Johnny wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

 

If Jaehyun was a dog at that moment, his ears would’ve perked up and his tail would’ve wagged excitedly.

 

“…He’s here?” 

 

Jaehyun narrowed his eyes at Johnny, ignoring Ten who was clutching his arm in a death grip and squealing. 

 

“Oh, I don’t know… but we do happen to be _very_ close and I could even call him right now if I wanted to.”

 

“You have his number?!”

 

“Yup.”

 

“And you didn’t give it to me when I asked, and you’re still not giving it to me as I’m standing here saving your ass?”

 

Johnny laughed.

 

Jaehyun began walking away back to the parking lot.

 

“Wait, wait! I’ll give it to you! But you have to promise to behave today.”

 

Jaehyun scoffed. 

 

“What are you talking about? I always behave.”

 

“Yeah, yeah…”

 

Johnny swung his arm over Jaehyun’s neck and leaned in and whispered, a complaining Ten in tow. 

 

“Hey, did you look through the folder?”

 

Jaehyun looked at him confused. 

 

“No.”

 

He could have, but he decided not to. Jaehyun told himself it was because of the lack of time, but it was really just because he was being sluggish and wanted Johnny to go fuck himself. 

 

Johnny nodded, _a lot_. It creeped him out. 

 

“Good, good. Anyways, the shoot starts in an hour and a half and I wanted you to meet someone before we started.” 

 

Johnny began dragging Jaehyun near the trailers as Ten waved them off to go to his own tent. 

 

“Who?”

 

“I think it’s time to meet the person who’ll be the center of your viewfinder today. It’s usually formality for a photographer to meet their model so they start off with a good relationship on the set, right? So that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

 

Johnny began walking faster.

 

“Oh, okay, I guess? Um, what was his name again?”

 

Johnny tripped a little. 

 

“Oh my god, please tell me you’re joking.”

 

Jaehyun laughed. 

 

“It’s Lee Taeyong, right?” He questioned as he got closer to a white trailer with the boy’s name taped to the door. It was probably the biggest trailer on the set. 

 

Jaehyun was looking around mid-drag; there were a cluster of people running around, shouting orders and directions, setting up props, and stylists setting up their tools.

 

_No wonder Johnny was stressed, there were so many people in charge of doing so many different things._

 

“Yup.”

 

Johnny hopped up the steps of the trailer with Jaehyun closely following behind him and began knocking on the door. 

 

“Taeyong, I’m coming in okay?”

 

He barely heard an answer before Johnny pulled the door open and pushed Jaehyun inside. 

 

Jaehyun stumbled a bit before whipping around. 

 

“Johnny, what the fuck?”

 

He was met with a shut door. 

 

“Johnny, is that you?”

 

_He knew that voice._

 

Jaehyun turned his head so fast that he felt his neck crack. 

 

A slim figure walked out from the end of the trailer and Jaehyun was left _breathless_.

 

It was the very same person he had crashed into that day at Johnny’s office. 

 

The boy seemed to remember him as well, judging from the stunned expression on his face. 

 

That’s not what was driving Jaehyun crazy though…

 

The boy was wearing a fluffy white robe that showed a bit of his chest and his prominent collarbones. He wasn’t wearing glasses this time so Jaehyun got a better view of those pretty doe eyes. His pink hair was dripping wet, drops of water sliding down his neck and going down even deeper. The pieces of skin that were revealed had a slight rosy hue to them, Jaehyun guesses he caught the boy right after a shower. 

 

They stood there in silence just taking each other in. 

 

Taeyong began to fidget while Jaehyun stood stone still. 

 

“Umm… you’re not Johnny…” 

 

The boy pulled both sides of his robe closer to his chest in an attempt to cover himself a bit better (not that Jaehyun was complaining) and awkwardly avoided Jaehyun’s eyes once again. 

 

“And you’re totally not an intern…” Jaehyun said absentmindedly, still focused on those damn collarbones.

 

Taeyong tilted his head and looked puzzled. 

 

_Fuck, that was adorable as hell._

 

Jaehyun fumed. 

 

He felt dumb. He couldn’t believe he had mistaken this boy for an _intern_ , it was so obvious that he was a model now that Jaehyun had gotten a better and longer look at him. Taeyong stood at an average height, probably much shorter than some other models, but really, this boy _broke_ height requirements with a face and body like that. Jaehyun now understood why Johnny compared his looks and charisma to a god’s, he felt like he was standing before a deity. Jaehyun couldn’t really see Taeyong’s slim body that well because of the thick robe but underneath the trailer lights, his sharp jawline and pretty but masculine features couldn’t be seen anymore clearer. Faces like that were meant to be on skyscrapers and national television. 

 

_God, he was gonna kill Johnny._

 

He heard snickering outside of the tiny trailer windows and saw Johnny’s face pressed up against the glass, recording the entire thing with his phone. 

 

Jaehyun stormed towards the door and was about to bust it open to beat some sense into his friend, when a timid and shy voice spoke up.

 

“Um, hi… I think we bumped into each other a couple of days ago, would you happen to be the photographer that Johnny was talking about?”

 

The intern- no, _Taeyong_ had giggled a little when he was talking about their incident and gave him a small smile after asking the question. 

 

Jaehyun thought he was gonna combust. There was too much cuteness inside one little being and Jaehyun knew that this boy was gonna be the death of him. 

 

_He mentally began preparing his funeral._

 

_And Johnny’s._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wHoa bros, i didn't expect for this to get such positive feedback, but i'm glad? lmao
> 
> ya'll comments are making me - boomin system up up TY TRAKK TY TRACC
> 
> this chapter was such a mess omg i don't usually have them this length but i already planned the chapters ahead and i'll probably have to add more tbh bc i didn't expect it to be this long and slow lool wow it really is a LONG ASS RIDE.
> 
> anyways, thank you for reading even though it prolly rlly messy and all over the place - have a nice day!
> 
> ps - apparently, johnny's fav disney movie is the lion king AHAHA


	3. oh baby it's you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jaeyong ensues lmao

The longer that he remained silent and just stared, the more Taeyong fidgeted. 

 

Not wanting him to feel any more uncomfortable, Jaehyun spoke up, hoping that he didn’t sound as uncertain as he felt.

 

“Oh, uh, yeah… I’ll be yours for today. I mean, like, uh, like your _photographer_ for today. Jung Jaehyun. That’s me.”

 

Jaehyun felt like the biggest loser on the planet. He was usually smooth, fluent and some would even say charming with his words, but here he was, struggling like a fish on land with this boy.

 

Jaehyun didn’t know if he was imagining it, but he thought he saw a wicked gleam in the other boy’s bottomless eyes. 

 

Taeyong let out a breathless chuckle. Jaehyun wondered what it would feel like if he made the other boy double over in full blown laughter, he already felt like he had won an Oscar for being at least a little source of amusement for the model.

 

“Haha, yes, I suppose you are _mine_ for today. It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Lee Taeyong,” Taeyong introduced himself with a smile, holding out a slender hand. 

 

_Fuck, I’m yours any day._

 

Jaehyun felt like he had met two different people over the span of four days. How this boy went from a shy looking intern fussing over someone he had bumped into, to a downright _sin_ amazed him. 

 

He grasped his hand, momentarily appreciating how soft it was before shaking it. 

 

“Yeah, its ah- uh, a pleasure.”

 

Jaehyun blushed a little before taking his hand back. He had held on a little longer than necessary but he couldn’t help it, he just hoped the other boy didn’t find him weird. He felt himself get red a little and started rubbing the back of his neck, feeling a little self conscious for losing his cool so easily.

 

Taeyong smiled again, Jaehyun thought he saw stars. 

 

Just as Taeyong opened his mouth to say something, the trailer door burst open. 

 

The devil himself walked in with a big grin and clapped Jaehyun on the shoulder.

 

“Wow, I see you two have finally met, huh? What a relief.”

 

Now Jaehyun was already going to punish Johnny for fucking with him, but interrupting what was possibly the best moment in his life? Johnny was _dead_.

 

Okay, he was kind of exagerrating, but still. 

 

With a glare that was enough to cower even Doyoung, Jaehyun’s eyes stabbed through Johnny’s skull. Johnny nervously side glanced him and gulped.

 

Jaehyun grabbed Johnny’s shoulder with an x amount of force. Johnny silently groaned. 

 

“Yes, indeed we have. Say, why didn’t you introduce us earlier Johnny? We actually have a LOT in common with each other.”

 

Jaehyun smiled sweetly. 

 

Taeyong hid his silent laughter behind a bath robe paw, his eyes crinkling in mischief.

 

_Cute._

 

“Ah, yes, Johnny. Why didn’t you? We actually talked about you quite a lot,” Taeyong added, going along with the plan that was silently communicated between them.

 

Johnny was struggling to pry Jaehyun’s death grip off of his shoulder. He laughed nervously.

 

“Is that so? What did you talk about?”

 

“Oh, well, remember when I was in a shoot once and I had to wear this really thick choker? You thought it was funny so you ended up playing with it but then you accidentally broke it and we found out that it was actually a thousand dollars? You took off your belt right in the middle of the shoot and made me wear it and no one ever found out. Jaehyun here told me how _hilarious_ it would be if we told the CEO-

 

“Wait, what?!” Johnny’s eyes darted from Jaehyun to Taeyong.

 

Jaehyun didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. He didn’t know if he wanted to laugh because he could actually see that situation happening and screwing Johnny’s life up was always a personal mission he had to oversee. And he didn’t know if he wanted to cry either, because it was the most Taeyong had ever spoken and _holy crap, Taeyong in a fucking choker, now that was a kink if he ever saw one-_

 

_Woah, back up._ _Too soon._

 

Jaehyun cleared his throat, ready to back the model up.

 

“Yeah, over the past few minutes, me and Taeyong have bonded over random acts of human kindness. We thought it was just _right_ if we told your boss of your wrongdoings-

 

“Hold up, hold the fuck up.” Johnny pushed himself away from Jaehyun and began shaking his head. 

 

He looked at Taeyong with a betrayed face. 

 

“You told him _everything_? The broken choker, the cracked makeup, bribing the driver, the wrong plane flight? _Everything_?”

 

_Wow, Jaehyun was seriously concerned about Taeyong’s wellbeing if this is what he had to deal with on a regular daily basis._

 

Taeyong’s face was beginning to turn guilty and Jaehyun no longer wanted to put him in a tight spot.

 

“Ten told me.”

 

_Whoops, sorry, Ten._

 

Taeyong gave him a small grateful smile. 

 

Johnny turned away from Taeyong and sighed. 

 

He shook his head. 

 

“Okay, but still… you two meeting…might be the worst decision of my life.”

 

Jaehyun laughed and he turned to Taeyong when he began laughing as well.

 

“Oh? Remember who has dirt on you, buddy.”

 

“Seriously, I’m already regretting it. Whatever, I’ll let you two be but we’re starting in 30, so don’t get too frisky, if you know what I’m saying…”

 

Johnny wiggled his eyebrows.

 

Jaehyun sighed, despite the pink dusting on his cheeks. 

 

“Johnny, I may have decided not to kill you at this moment, but I don’t know how you’ll be after this shoot…”

 

Johnny shuffled to the door.

 

“Yeah, yeah.. have fun, lovebirds.”

 

He shut the door and there was silence once again.

 

Jaehyun looked up, grateful to see that Taeyong was also sporting a nice shade of pink on his features. It spread across his cheekbones and made him look younger than he actually probably was.

 

“So-

 

“Uh-

 

They both looked at each other like a pair of deer caught in headlights. 

 

“You first.”

 

Taeyong blinked. 

 

“Uh, well, I was just gonna thank you… well, for being here and everything. It means a lot to me. I didn’t really want to cancel the shoot because everyone here has worked so hard for today and it’s only possible because of you, so… thank you.”

 

Taeyong gave him a sincere smile. Jaehyun felt _bats_ flying around in his stomach. 

 

_And he’s thoughtful too? Oh fuck._

 

Jaehyun laughed nervously. 

 

“I feel like you’re putting too much faith in me… I might disappoint, you know? This isn’t really my kind of scene.”

 

Taeyong still grinned at him even at his negative response.

 

“I know it’s not. But you’re here now aren’t you? Besides, Johnny might act like an airhead sometimes, but he only trusts people who are fully capable. I’ve decided to put my trust in you, so please take care of me today.”

 

Taeyong gave him a respectful bow. 

 

Jaehyun was surprised but managed to do the same. 

 

He was a bit stunned. He hadn't known Taeyong for that long but he could already tell that he was a person who had a warm heart. Nothing like the previous models he had worked with during his college days. He didn’t think someone who was so beautiful could look as equally beautiful in the inside, as cheesy as it sounds. Granted he doesn’t know a thing about the other boy except that he was a model and amazing to look at, oh, and they both love watching Johnny squirm. That last one was a huge plus. 

 

“So, I guess we have 30 minutes to ourselves, huh?”

 

Taeyong gestured the the trailer seats. There was a booth, with a table between the seats. 

 

“Wanna sit down?”

 

Jaehyun nodded. He and Taeyong sat on opposite sides. 

 

Taeyong looked apologetic as he was sitting down.

 

“Oh, by the way, I just wanted to say sorry. Johnny told me you just got back from a four month trip and I’m making more work for you when you just got back…”

 

Jaehyun was quick to reassure him.

 

“Don’t worry about it. This is my job, besides, I always try to help Johnny whenever I can no matter how annoying he is.”

 

Taeyong stifled a laugh, raising his hand up to cover his mouth. Jaehyun wonders if Taeyong disliked how he laughed, he seemed to cover it up whenever he did.

 

Jaehyun mentally thanked Johnny. He had to admit, if it wasn’t for the older boy, he would have probably never met Taeyong in the first place. 

 

“He is a bit of an… airhead sometimes, but he’s the type of person to lift your mood up when you’re down. Johnny might not be your typical paperwork manager but he’s really good at reading situations. He’ll slow you down when you’re going too fast and he’ll comfort you when you need it the most. Instead of a manager, to me, he’s more of a close friend that I treasure.”

 

Taeyong looked down and smiled. 

 

_He was not jealous of Johnny. He was not jealous of Johnny. He was not jealous of that awful parrot imitator, there was no way in hell._

 

“Haha, yeah… I think his and Ten’s qualities are pretty compatible don’t you think?”

 

_Damn it, Jung Jaehyun._

 

To his _immense_ relief, Taeyong perked up and gave him a knowing grin.

 

“Yeah, they’d be perfect together if they would just man up and confess. Maybe that way, Ten wouldn’t smudge my makeup whenever Johnny passed by.”

 

Jaehyun laughed. 

 

“It’s okay, no matter what’s on your face you’ll probably _always_ look good.”

 

Instead of Taeyong blushing like he expected and _wanted_ to happen, the other boy smirked. 

 

“Yeah? And exactly what do you want on my face?” Taeyong asked raising a brow.

 

Jaehyun gaped. 

 

Taeyong burst out laughing, not being quick enough to cover it up. He had a unique laugh and Jaehyun mentally recorded it in his head along with his internal debate with the model. It wasn’t a pretty laugh, it was unrestrained and free. Jaehyun decided that he liked it. He liked it _a lot._

 

Usually, Jaehyun was the one to sweep people off their feet. He had a routine of sorts. Be a gentleman, make sure to give them some cheesy ass compliment, act like you genuinely care about what they’re saying, say some bullshit that will make them think he was their type. Follow the steps, repeat, and he’d have a person in his bed in no time. It was fool proof, but apparently, this boy was immune.

 

Jaehyun propped his chin up on his palm, hiding a small smile behind a fist.

 

_Lee Taeyong was fascinating._

 

“Whatever you want, baby.”

 

This made Taeyong laugh even more, and in return making Jaehyun chuckle as well. 

 

They talked more about their personal lives; what they did, how old they were, what they liked to do during their free time (Jaehyun had to stretch a bit for that one, he couldn’t exactly whip out his gaming stats and expect for the other boy to be impressed) and the like.

 

Jaehyun had learned that Taeyong was two years older than him, was pursuing a career in culinary arts before he decided to model, loved to clean and play Overwatch during his free time (totally when Jaehyun decided to whip out his stats, he felt like he could already bend down on a knee when Taeyong was looking at him in admiration and clapping in amazement) and he had an adorable baby niece that he loved bragging about. Jaehyun was cooing in Taeyong’s cuteness rather than the baby’s when Taeyong had pulled out a keychain with his nieces’ picture on it. 

 

Jaehyun was in the middle of explaining how he almost died climbing a tree in Africa because there was an angry monkey who was living in it, when there was a bang on the door.

 

“We’re starting in 5!”

 

Jaehyun and Taeyong both blinked each other, a little bit stupefied. 

 

They both had no idea that they were talking for that long; time had really flew.

 

Taeyong stood up and Jaehyun did the same.

 

Taeyong sighed and gave him a bitter smile. 

 

“You’ll have to tell me about that monkey later. I have to go get ready now or Ten will throw a fit, I’ll see you on the set?”

 

Jaehyun nodded.

 

“For sure.”

 

Taeyong gave him one last smile before putting his sliders on, tightening the belt of his robe and leaving the trailer with a quiet shut. 

 

After getting himself together, Jaehyun also walked out of the trailer heading towards the photography crew. 

 

While he was walking, he didn’t notice the stares he got due to his attractive appearance. If his head wasn’t so full of a certain pink haired model, maybe he would’ve.

 

 

—

 

 

Everything was fine. 

 

The cameras were set up, the umbrellas were set up, there were spare lighting ready, the wires were organized, the stands were in place, everything was perfect.

 

Except for one little thing.

 

_Donghyuck._

 

When Johnny had mentioned that he would be getting assistants, he expected older, more mature, and experienced assistants. 

 

He was _so_ wrong.

 

_Jaehyun had chased Johnny down after spending five minutes with his temporary assistants._

 

_He grabbed onto the older boy’s elbow and practically begged._

 

_“Johnny, please, not like this…”_

 

_Johnny shrugged._

 

_“Hey, man… you WERE asking about interns.”_

 

_Johnny had smirked and moonwalked away._

 

Thinking about it gave him a headache. 

 

His two very young assistants were named Donghyuck and Jisung. Having both of them around was like having a devil on one shoulder and an angel on another.

 

Jisung was a nice kid. Polite, respectful, and a little bashful but he got the job done and followed Jaehyun around like a little puppy.

 

_Donghyuck_ on the other hand… was a pain in the ass. 

 

He got the job done _more or less_ , but Jaehyun just _knew_ that when he had tripped on a loose wire and Donghyuck had stopped arranging the stands to obnoxiously laugh, he was gonna blow an artery because of the kid. 

 

Throughout planning the cameras and making sure people were in place and the sun wasn't too overbearing for lighting, it seemed as if Jaehyun had become the subject of Donghyuck’s affections. And by affections he means pranks. 

 

The first time was when he was taking a drink. It was a particularly hot day so it was not a surprise that Jaehyun wanted a drink of water. He should’ve noticed that he didn’t hear a familiar crack when he twisted it open, but he was too distracted by other things to notice…

 

Taeyong walked out of the dressing room looking like a literal angel with his white designer turtleneck and brown khakis. If the rest of the world didn’t stop and stare, then humanity truly had no hope for the future. Jaehyun didn’t even _care_ that he was wearing khakis, hell, Taeyong could wear a trash bag and a sombrero and still pull it off as part of the next Givenchy collection. 

 

_Ahem, anyways…_

 

The second he had taken a drink, he had immediately spat it out onto the grass (sorry, grass).

 

The little shit had mixed vinegar and lime in with his water. 

 

And the thing was, Donghyuck didn’t even bother hiding it. He just cackled and proudly patted himself on the back. To be fair, he should’ve paid more attention to whether the bottle was unopened or not, so he wasn't _too_ bothered by it. 

 

The next situation was when he started getting annoyed. Watermelon. Donghyuck was eating watermelon. _On the set._ The kid was humming and eating watermelon behind him and Jisung who were trying to fix the cables. Jisung, _bless him_ , had politely asked Donghyuck to stop since watermelon seeds were getting everywhere. Donghyuck had hummed an affirmative but still kept spitting shit out like damn pitching machine, a few had probably gotten in his hair, he’s sure. Jaehyun had enough when one of the seeds began sticking to the equipment.

 

“Listen here, I don't know what your deal is, but last time I checked, you’re not the one paying for all of this shit, treat the equipment with respect,” Jaehyun had stood up and walked away to cool off, not wanting to hear the other’s smart ass remark. 

 

Jaehyun was now in front of his camera, readjusting the knobs and buttons, making sure all adjustments were set to where the picture would be taken perfectly, taking in account, the lighting and distance. 

 

Taking a test shot, Jaehyun leaned his head into the camera, his eye making contact with the viewfinder. Once he snapped a photo and checked to make sure it was alright, he backed up and turned around to give the crew an affirmative.

 

When he turned around, people gave him double looks and weird stares. Some were even hiding laughs behind their clipboards. 

 

Jisung quickly walked up to him like a baby chick and gestured at his eye, he looked apologetic.

 

Jaehyun sighed. 

 

He wasn’t even angry anymore, just tired.

 

Jaehyun walked away from the camera crew to look for a mirror in one of the beauty tents.

Donghyuck had passed by innocently whistling and Jaehyun resisted the strong urge to trip the boy. He would not stoop himself down to that level of immaturity, that was Johnny’s job. 

 

Jaehyun spotted Ten’s back and called out to him.

 

“Ten, do you know where I can find a mirror?”

 

Ten turned around and laughed at Jaehyun’s face. 

 

He winced. 

 

“Is it that bad?”

 

Ten _innocently_ smirked, if that was even possible. 

 

“I have a mirror right here, take a look.”

 

Jaehyun walked to wear Ten was and realized that Ten wasn’t the only one there.

 

Ten was behind a styling chair, and the very person occupying the chair was Taeyong.

 

Jaehyun stilled a couple of feet away from model, heart beating a little faster from when he had first walked in.

 

Taeyong looked up from his phone and cheerfully waved at him from the mirror’s reflection. A couple of seconds later, he noticed Jaehyun’s eye and giggled cutely. 

 

Too distracted by that giggle, Jaehyun looked up to see the damage. It wasn’t that bad, he just looked like he had a black eye.

 

Ten playfully patted Taeyong’s head in affection before backing away. 

 

“I’m going to get some hairspray. Taeyong, here, can help you with your eye.” 

 

Ten lifted the curtains and walked out of the tent, but not before giving Jaehyun a crude wink. 

 

Jaehyun shuddered before looking back at Taeyong. It seemed like his hair was in the middle of being styled but it still looked good naturally. He guesses Ten didn’t do his makeup yet judging by Taeyong’s bare face. Taeyong still looked crazy good, even with the scar near his right eye that Jaehyun hadn’t noticed earlier and his slightly chapped lips. 

 

Taeyong looked at him. Instead of turning around, he tilted his head back, showing his long and slender neck on the mirror. Jaehyun swallowed.

 

“I’m guessing that’s from Hyuck?”

 

Jaehyun suddenly remembered about the _pest_ , and sighed. 

 

“Yeah.”

 

Taeyong chuckled.

 

“He does that to everybody at first, don’t think anything of it, he’s still a kid, after all. You should be more worried if he didn't prank you at all. Everyone’s gone through it, think of it as a rite of passage.”

 

Jaehyun raised a brow. 

 

“Have you gone through it?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“Well, what’d he do?”

 

“Mine certainly weren’t as interesting as yours,” Taeyong paused to laugh a little. “Just took pictures of me while I was asleep, shouting TY track every time I looked at a camera, making a mess, etc… I think his pranking has evolved, to be honest.”

 

Jaehyun was confused about the TY track part, but he made a mental note to harass the other boy for those pictures later.

 

He sat down on the chair besides Taeyong. 

 

“How’d you get him to stop?”

 

Taeyong grabbed what looked like a package of tissues before answering. 

 

“Well, he eventually gets bored after a while and stops, but you can always threaten him using Mark. Oh, do you know Mark? Him and Hyuck go way back, they’re best friends and Hyuck really admires Mark. If you threaten to snitch about him to Mark, he’ll be as quiet as a cricket. ”

 

Taeyong was opening the package and Jaehyun realized it was makeup wipes. 

 

_“_ I know Mark, and thinking about it… he did say something about a troublesome junior.”

 

Taeyong smiled, “That’s Donghyuck for you. Now come here so I can fix your face.”

 

Jaehyun pretended to look offended. 

 

“Damn, and I thought I wasn’t _that_ bad looking…”

 

Taeyong laughed. 

 

“Come here, handsome.”

 

Taeyong called him handsome. Taeyong called him handsome. If Taeyong called him handsome then fuck, he was _handsome._

 

_Despite his hammering heart, he brought himself closer to Taeyong._

 

Taeyong brought one of his hands to cup Jaehyun’s face and he used the other to grab a makeup wipe. 

 

The skin that Taeyong was touching _burned._

 

Taeyong was wiping the mess on his face diligently and gently. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and the tip of his tiny pink tongue stuck out a little. He seemed like he was used to this, taking care of other people. He was a humming a familiar tune, Jaehyun couldn’t recall where he’d heard it before. 

 

Taeyong’s face was up close and his eyes greedily took everything in from the new perspective. He wanted to trace Taeyong’s ethereal features with his  lips fingers. Overall, he just wanted to worship the other boy from his pretty little head down to his feet. Looking at Taeyong, he wonders how anybody could resist him. It wasn’t just that either, Jaehyun credited himself as a good observer, he knew that Taeyong didn’t have a single evil bone in his body. He saw how the other boy personally greeted and bowed to each staff member, he saw how Taeyong had given up a chair to one of the workers who lifted equipment, and he saw how bashful and humble Taeyong became when he was being complimented. 

 

While judging from his smirks and witty responses, Jaehyun knew that Taeyong wasn’t as pure as driven snow, but he _liked_ that. Taeyong was a puzzling mix of sexiness and cuteness, and he was someone who could keep up with Jaehyun when talking. When Jaehyun pushed, Taeyong pushed back just as hard, if not more.

 

It’s only been a day but Jaehyun was beginning to find himself being enamored by Taeyong, and he didn’t necessarily welcome that. 

 

_He was liking this boy way too fast in such a short amount of time._

 

No matter how much of a gentleman he was to people, truth be told, Jaehyun had never actually been in a proper relationship before. He’s slept with people, sure, but he’s never actually liked anyone enough to put effort in an _actual_ relationship. 

 

Jaehyun might be warm and friendly to other people’s eyes, but he actually only kept very few people close to him. He’s not the best communicator, he’d rather go take photos or go to the gym than go on a date, he’s a shitty gift giver, he has a habit of being insensitive sometimes, and the list just goes on and on. Looking at Taeyong up close, flaws and all, Jaehyun didn’t know how to feel.

 

He didn’t want to go on dates, watch cheesy romantic movies, ride bikes together, share clothes together… he just didn't want to do any of that cringey couple-y stuff. 

 

But when he thinks about doing all of those things with Taeyong… _it doesn't seem so bad?_

 

Okay, maybe, doesn’t seem so bad was an understatement, he could probably do something as stupid as _bird watching_ with Taeyong and he’ll probably still have the time of his life. 

 

Fuck, he was so _whipped._

 

Jaehyun let his eyes flutter closed, Taeyong’s mild touches were relaxing and his smooth voice lulled him into a state of peace. The boy was cleaning him up, oblivious to the thoughts that ran in his head.

 

After a few more minutes, Taeyong clapped his hands and let go.

 

“You’re all done!”

 

Jaehyun opened his eyes to a brightly smiling Taeyong with closed crinkled eyes and messy pink hair. His cheeks were rosy and his teeth shined like diamonds.

 

He decided that he _will_ ask Taeyong to do something stupid with him like bird watching after the shoot. 

 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Taeyong tilted his head.

 

Jaehyun smiled and ruffled Taeyong’s soft hair.

 

“Nothing.”

 

_-_

 

Jaehyun had his phone to his hear, purposely standing near Donghyuck.

 

“Hello?”

 

Jaehyun waited for an answer as if he was actually on the phone with his younger friend. 

 

“Hey, Mark.”

 

Silence greeted him back but he was satisfied with the result when Donghyuck’s shoulder’s suddenly tensed. 

 

“… Yeah, yeah, I’m good, how about you?”

 

Jaehyun tried his hardest not to laugh when he saw Donghyuck inching closer to hear.

 

“How’s the shoot? Oh, it’s okay… could be better though.”

 

Jaehyun repositioned his phone on his ear before continuing. 

 

“Well, there’s this junior who’s really _annoying_ , straight up bothersome and it’s making my job so much harder.”

 

“…”

 

Jaehyun smirked.

 

“Oh, what’s his name? I think you know him since you’re around the same age actually, and you work at the same place. His name’s Dong-“

 

A hand clasped Jaehyun’s mouth shut.

 

Jaehyun raised an eyebrow at Donghyuck’s constipated expression. He tried not to look _too_ smug about it. Donghyuck silently gestured for him to hang up and he did, or at least Donghyuck _thinks_ he did.

 

“Was… was that Mark-hyung?”

 

Jaehyun grinned innocently.

 

“Yes, we’re good friends actually.”

 

Donghyuck looked at him for a second before sighing.

 

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop. Just don’t mention anything about me to hyung… please?”

 

Jaehyun would have paid money to buy a frame for Donghyuck’s face from when he had said the _p_ word.

 

“It depends if this day goes smoothly…I’ll think about it.”

 

Donghyuck rolled his eyes but nodded and stomped away.

 

_Success._

 

Jaehyun felt like engulfing Taeyong in a bear hug, he was glad that Donghyuck was finally off his back.

 

Speaking of Taeyong, the model himself came out of a tent and made his way over to Jaehyun. 

 

“Hi.”

 

Jaehyun smiled.

 

“Hey.”

 

Taeyong was still dressed in his designer clothes but this time, his hair was styled and he had makeup on. The hair and makeup made Taeyong look downright _godly_ and he silently admired Ten’s skills. The other boy knew how to make Taeyong’s already pretty features even prettier.

 

“We’re starting soon, are you nervous, Jaehyunnie?”

 

If it was anybody but Taeyong who said his name so adorably, he would’ve gutted them. 

 

“No. I’m in my element, I have fun doing what I love and even though I don’t normally do this, I’m glad it was you.” Jaehyun said truthfully. 

 

Taeyong cheeks warmed up a little as his lips stretched into a gentle smile.

 

“I’m glad it was you too.”

 

They stared at each other softly for while, both a little thankful that things had gone the way they had. It could have been a wreck, but it seemed as if luck was on their side.

 

Jaehyun cleared his throat.

 

“Taeyong, uh, after this… would-“

 

“Starting in 3!” The shoot director’s loud voice reverberated through the megaphone in his hand cutting Jaehyun off. 

 

Jaehyun mentally cursed. 

 

Taeyong looks at him again. “What was that?”

 

“Oh, nothing, nevermind…”

 

“Okay, I have to go now, but fighting!! I believe in you, Jaehyunnie.”

 

Taeyong did a weird little dance and cheered him on.

 

Jaehyun laughed and waved him away. 

 

He rubbed his face tiredly and sighed. 

 

_Taeyong was too much._

 

He heard footsteps approaching him but he kept on working, expecting it to be Jisung or Donghyuck again.

 

Behind him was Johnny, who was quaking his knees and shrinking himself down to make his giant frame seem smaller.

 

“T-T-T-Taeyong, a-a-after t-this would-“ 

 

Jaehyun lunged for Johnny as the other cackled and ran away.

 

 

-

 

 

The first set of the shoot was in front of a large fountain in the middle of the park. It was a classic three tier fountain with tiny little angels playing trumpets. 

 

Jaehyun thought it was awfully _cliche_ but pretty and simple enough to be used as a background.

 

He was behind the camera, looking around the set making sure that everything was ready to start shooting. 

 

Jaehyun nodded to the shoot director and Johnny who was beside him. 

 

The director shouted a positive behind his obnoxious megaphone and Taeyong walked in front of the fountain. 

 

Jaehyun took a deep breath in. 

 

Taeyong started off with a simple pose of standing in a laid-back manner with his hands in his pockets. 

 

Jaehyun’s camera fired off and his fingers began moving in a way he was used to. His fingers fiddled with the shutter speed and ISO when they needed correction.

 

The clicks could’ve been mistaken as a semi automatic by how fast it was going.

 

Taeyong moved to another pose where one hand was behind his head and he was looking down. 

 

After a moment, Taeyong looked up, his dark eyes penetrating Jaehyun’s being. He wondered if this was how Taeyong looked at the camera all the time. If it was, Jaehyun already had a _passionate dislike_ for each photographer before him who’s had the pleasure of seeing it. 

 

As if Taeyong was reading his mind, the model suddenly decided to lift a corner of his mouth, giving the camera (Jaehyun) an alluring smirk.

 

Jaehyun tried to low-key shift his pants. 

 

Taeyong smirked even wider. 

 

_He’s doing it on purpose._

 

Jaehyun chuckled under his breath.

 

_Two can play at this game._

 

He tilted his head back from the camera and gave Taeyong a smirk of his own.

 

It was very brief, and he wouldn’t be surprised if he was the only one to notice it, but a flash of surprise crossed Taeyong’s pretty face before he covered it up with the same smirk.

 

Taeyong decided to sit on the fountain ledge, his hands planted on the washed up cement behind him as he leaned back.

 

His legs spread slowly as he tilted his head back a little and bit his lower lip.

 

Jaehyun almost choked but covered it up with a quiet cough.

 

Donghyuck turned his head to look at him weirdly. 

 

It became a game of sorts. Well, not really a game when Jaehyun felt like he was just losing by miles the entire time.

 

Taeyong would model in suggestive poses and the boy would _bathe_ in amusement by Jaehyun’s reactions. 

 

Jaehyun had learned another thing about Taeyong, and it was that he was the biggest tease he thinks he had ever met. 

 

The game was over when Taeyong lifted his arms above his head, his shirt riding up a bit, showing his tiny hips and the smooth, hairless skin of his stomach. 

 

Jaehyun wanted to kill everyone there just for being witness to the sight.

 

Johnny had not so subtly whacked the back of his head with a roll of papers. 

 

If he thought the first set took a year, the next two felt like a whole _millennium_. 

 

Jaehyun tried his best not give in to Taeyong’s whims and school his features into serious photographer mode but he had to admit, there were times where he almost slipped. 

 

The breaks betweens the sets were equally as frustrating. 

 

Taeyong would stride up to Jaehyun acting like he wasn’t just giving him a strip tease of some sort or bedroom eyes, casually sucking on a juice box with the lips that have been giving him hell for the last hour. 

 

Taeyong was a _challenge._ A sexy but very frustrating challenge. A challenge that Jaehyun would not back away from. _Couldn’t_ back away from.

 

And when break was over, Taeyong would pat his back and give him a wink before getting into position. Jaehyun was powerless to do anything but grit his teeth and smile.

 

Contrary to what he thought before, Taeyong was exciting to shoot for. He was charismatic in a way where everybody who fell witness to him couldn’t tear their eyes away. But he still became humble and respectful. Whenever he made a mistake he would become embarrassed and bow down in apology. The staff would just laugh and wave it off, because really, Jaehyun has no idea how you can say no to a face like that. 

 

As the sky grew darker, the shoot progressed and eventually came to an end. 

 

Jaehyun was satisfied with the shots he had taken today and had already gotten a few ideas of how to edit them. 

 

He thanked his staff, even Donghyuck, after reluctantly promising not to snitch him out to Mark and getting his Taeyong pictures, but not without _very_ heavy teasing. Still, he silently prayed for Mark. He rubbed Jisung’s head affectionately and answered all of the questions the younger boy had for him. Jisung reminded him of Winwin, in a way where they acted a little naive sometimes. 

 

Jaehyun was in the middle of thanking the other make up artists who were fawning all over him, for their hard work when he felt a light but possessive grip on his elbow. 

 

_“Meet me in my trailer in 5,”_ Taeyong whispered in his ear. He smiled at the make up artists who now looked at him a little shellshocked and watched the model childishly skip away to the direction of his trailer. 

 

Jaehyun shuddered and grinned in apology to them before walking back to the photography team’s tent. 

 

Doyoung called him and Jaehyun picked up a little breathless, still not shaking off the feeling of Taeyong’s soft lips pressed against his ear. 

 

“…Yeah?”

 

“…Why do you sound like that…? You know what, forget it, I don’t even want to know. I’m on my way with the truck to pick up all of the equipment, did you want me to pick you up? Johnny told me about an after party or something, we could take your bike.”

 

Jaehyun thought back to Taeyong. Something told him that neither of them were gonna be attending the get together that night. 

 

“Um, you know what? I’m good actually…I’m just gonna go back home, and just, like, rest up…”

 

Jaehyun winced at the silence. Doyoung was a bunny. An evil bunny that could sniff out a lie kilometers away. 

 

“…Uh, huh…well, okay…”

 

Jaehyun raised his eyebrows in surprise. 

 

“O…kay?”

 

Doyoung giggled his evil bunny giggle before continuing.

 

“Yeah… but remember, honey pig… USE PROTEC-“

 

Jaehyun hung up and turned his phone off.

 

Johnny came into the tent and began laughing loudly.

 

He wanted to go on his knees and beg for peace. 

 

“Hey, lover boy…” Johnny did his ugly eyebrow wiggle.

 

“Johnny, please… not you too…”

 

“Me, what? I’m just glad. My best friend’s finally getting LAID.” Johnny did a crude hip thrust, and Jaehyun contemplated on faking his death and moving to a deserted island. With Taeyong, of course. 

 

“I’m not getting laid…”

 

Johnny looked at him like he was crazy.

 

“Are you kidding me? You suffocated the _whole staff_ with your guys’ sexual tension.”

 

Jaehyun was about to retort back, using Ten’s name to threaten him until he realized it had been five minutes. 

 

He cleared his throat and started shuffling towards the tent flaps.

 

“Uh, well… I have to go… Jisung wanted to ask me some more questions.”

 

Johnny didn't look impressed and Jaehyun wondered why he even bothered lying to his friends anymore. 

 

“Okay, sure… but you guys are going to the get together thing right?”

 

Jaehyun laughed as he stepped out of the tent. 

 

“Right?!”

 

“I’m not gonna supervise you just because you’re afraid to be alone with Ten!” Jaehyun shouted back.

 

 

_-_

 

 

Jaehyun stared at the trailer door, the name plastered on it staring back at him. 

 

Just when his hand gripped the handle, the door flew open and he was grabbed inside. 

 

He almost collide with the model when two small hands gripped his shirt to steady him. 

 

Taeyong had changed out of his designer clothes and opted for the white fluffy robe he was wearing earlier. 

 

“Hi…” Taeyong grinned sheepishly, still holding on to his shirt. 

 

Jaehyun practically felt all traces of doubt and hesitation fly out the window. He gripped the thin wrists anchoring him and smiled down at the model.

 

“Hey.” 

 

“I saw you. I mean, like, I saw you standing out there and you looked a little nervous so I just grabbed you…”

 

Taeyong’s head suddenly shot up.

 

“Oh my god. Unless, you totally _didn’t_ want to go inside. Shit, have I been reading you wrong this entire time? I’m so sorry!” Taeyong rambled on, embarrassed and very flustered. 

 

It reminded Jaehyun of when they first met and he couldn't help but laugh. 

 

Taeyong frowned and tried to let go of his shirt, Jaehyun didn’t let him. He did, however, want the hurt expression on Taeyong’s face to go away immediately. 

 

“No, no, I’m sorry… I _definitely_ wanted to go in, I just wasn’t feeling all that confident.” Jaehyun said his words sincerely, hoping that they would go through to the other boy. 

 

Taeyong looked at him confused. “…But, why wouldn’t you be confident?”

 

Jaehyun raised an eyebrow at him. “Did you see yourself during that shoot?” 

 

Taeyong blushed and Jaehyun laughed again. Taeyong pouted and playfully hit him. Jaehyun wiped the tears gathering in the corner of his eyes and sobered up.

 

“Are you like that at all of your shoots?”

 

Taeyong tilted his head as if he were thinking about it.

 

“Hmm… it depends…”

 

“On?” Jaehyun asked, urging him to continue. 

 

“Yeah, if the photographer’s hot.” 

 

It was Taeyong’s turn to laugh. Jaehyun didn’t know what his face looked like at that moment, but if it got to make him laugh like that, Jaehyun didn’t really mind all that much.

 

“How many of your photographers have been ‘hot’?”

 

Taeyong grinned and brought his hands up to interlace at the back of Jaehyun’s neck.

 

“One.”

 

Jaehyun looked behind him for a split second and made a decision. He locked the door and reached for Taeyong’s soft wrists again. 

 

“Damn, I’m sorry he couldn’t make it today, I heard it was explosive diarrhea.”

 

Taeyong practically cackled and rested his head against Jaehyun’s collarbone. Jaehyun’s hands made its way from Taeyong’s wrists down to wrap snuggly against the smaller boy’s waist. It felt like a perfect fit. 

 

Taeyong looked up at Jaehyun who was already staring down at him. 

 

Later on, if you were to ask them who made the first move, they would undeniably call each other out on it, but at that moment, they were already kissing before they had realized they had even moved. 

 

Jaehyun has been kissed and has kissed people in return, but with Taeyong’s lips innocently pressed against his and the other boy’s lashes long enough to caress his cheeks, he doesn’t think anything else can compare. 

 

It began to get not so innocent as Jaehyun pressed the tip of his tongue against Taeyong’s lips. Taeyong opened his mouth enough for Jaehyun’s tongue to slip in. As they explored each other’s mouths, Taeyong grasped Jaehyun’s hair and tugged. He groaned and bit Taeyong’s lower lip resulting in a low whimper that Jaehyun thought he could definitely get used to hearing. 

 

As they parted for air, with Taeyong’s hands in his hair and his in an almost bruising grip on the model’s waist, Jaehyun took a moment to appreciate Taeyong’s swollen red and saliva slicked lips.

 

Not a second later, their lips reunited once again, kissing each other like their life depended on it.

 

Jaehyun pulled back and he tried not to be too smug about it when Taeyong gave him a whine. 

 

“Jump.” Jaehyun’s words were barely heard since his lips were pressed against Taeyong’s temple but the other boy definitely received the message. 

 

He had an armful of Taeyong as they lazily made out and Jaehyun walked over to one of the couches trying not to trip in the process. 

 

Taeyong was on his lap, Jaehyun sucking softly on the skin of his neck. The couch was already small and it would’ve been slightly uncomfortable if they weren’t so focused on each other at the moment. Taeyong’s robe was open enough to were his collarbones were fully exposed and his pink nipples peeked out. 

 

“Can I mark you?” Jaehyun asked, still adoring Taeyong’s body with his lips. 

 

“Ah… yeah, I’ll just make Ten cover it up.”

 

Jaehyun groaned.

 

“Please don’t talk about Ten right now…”

 

Taeyong laughed a little, breaking into a quiet moan when Jaehyun sucked particularly hard on his collarbone. 

 

“I’ve wanted to kiss you all day,” Taeyong said breathlessly, as he ran his hands through Jaehyun’s hair. Jaehyun smiled into Taeyong’s soft skin. 

 

“Me too… don’t… hah… don’t do what you did during the shoot to anyone else.”

 

Taeyong chuckled and tugged his hair. 

 

“Then don’t smile like that to the staff anymore, they were going crazy about you, you know that?”

 

Jaehyun pulled back and tilted his head back to laugh.

 

“What do you want me to do? Sneer at them?”

 

“Yes.” 

 

The fact that Taeyong’s face was serious as he said this with no hesitation made him laugh even more.

 

“Deal.”

 

They were going to go back to making out like a bunch of horny teenagers before a loud knock interrupted them. They pulled back and looked at each other a little confused and nervous.

 

“Taeyong! And Jaehyun! I know you’re there too!”

 

They both sighed in relief, thankful that it wasn’t anybody else but their idiot friend, Johnny.

 

“Ignore him,” Jaehyun whispered to Taeyong’s ear. The model nodded and they were about to go back to kissing until another loud knock interrupted them _again._

 

“Hey, don’t ignore me!”

 

“…”

 

“I have a key! And a camera! You better open up!”

 

“…Shit.”

 

Taeyong sighed and stood up. Jaehyun already missed the weight and warmth on his lap.

 

“What do you want, Johnny?”

 

“Finally! Both of you are going to the party!” Johnny said with a tone that told them there wasn’t going to be any argument to what he was saying.

 

Taeyong looked at him with a face that read that he didn’t know what to do. Jaehyun lifted a hand to make a slicing gesture near his neck. 

 

“Tell him to fuck off,” He mouthed.

 

Jaehyun was honestly, done with Johnny’s shit. He had been cock blocking Jaehyun for days and now he was going to force them to a party just because he was afraid to be alone with his crush? Hell no. Johnny needed to get over the fact that he was as straight as a wet spaghetti and he wanted to do the frickle frackle with Ten.

 

“Uh… we’re busy! Maybe another time?” Taeyong shouted back.

 

“…”

 

They looked at each other and was about to fist bump in success until they heard Johnny’s voice again.

 

“Taeyong, I know where you hide your cleaning supplies, and Jaehyun, I know where your bread stash is.”

 

“Fuck.”

 

Taeyong smiled at him apologetically and offered a hand to help him up.

 

He took it and didn’t let go. 

 

They walked to the trailer door with interlaced hands, dreading their fate.

 

Jaehyun sighed, but as he looked at the beautiful boy next to him, he thinks that everything will turn out to be alright, even if he’s stuck with a bunch of asshole friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is so messy and so ugly, i'm probably gonna regret posting it bc i'm p ocd about mistakes and im p sure there's hella in this chapter lool but yolooo


	4. inside, only you are allowed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh johnny

Jamming to Red Velvet’s new comeback song, Jaehyun who was only wearing an apron and the black slacks he wore the night before was in the middle of making breakfast. He hummed to the beat as he cracked some eggs over the sizzling frying pan. For Jaehyun, it was an amazing fucking morning. The best morning. He had a good kind of ache in the right places and thinking about the wonderful night he had before made him want to re live it over and over again. 

 

As he recalls last night in his head, all he could think about was the velvet thighs wrapped securely around his waist, the rose colored lips sucking on his neck, the hand trailing down to his waistband to get to his-

 

_“Oh daddy. Oh daddy. Oh daddy. Oh daddy-“_

 

Jaehyun groaned in dismay.

 

_That ringtone is a curse. An absolute curse. It should be a horror movie sound effect._

 

If he had to go through this scenario one more time, he was seriously thinking of blocking Johnny and changing his number. For life. Johnny was family to him, sure, but he had seen the manager way too much during the past few days to like his presence, especially when he would rather be _doing_ someone  something else.

 

Grunting in slight annoyance, he patted both of his back pockets for his phone while simultaneously using his other hand to make sure his eggs didn’t burn. He turned down the heat just in case he got off track.

 

He swiped the screen of his phone with his thumb to answer and brought it up to his ear. 

 

“Johnny, if you’re calling me this early, you must either really love me or better yet, you have your dick stuck in an oven,” Jaehyun greeted the other line without missing a beat. For once, he thought that he was actually going to have a pleasant morning with no interruptions. Unfortunately, it seemed like recently, his life has been a series of interruptions. 

 

_Thanks to Johnny, of course._

 

“It’s the second one,” Johnny answered back. Jaehyun could hear him running around over the phone. There were heavy footsteps that could only be made by Johnny’s large frame and giant feet and harsh breaths were huffing near the mic. He shook his head, he doesn’t even want to know what the older boy was up to now. 

 

Jaehyun stopped flipping the eggs over with his spatula once he comprehended Johnny’s answer. He didn’t know whether or not the other boy was serious about the dick in the oven thing. 

 

“Uh… Listen man, I know we’re pretty close, but…can’t you ask like Ten or something-“ Jaehyun dragged on, hoping that his friend could just realize that he wanted no part in his dick problems. 

 

“Oh! Oh, no. Figuratively! I meant figuratively! I have a dick stuck in the oven figuratively,” Johnny hurried to explain. He kind of shouted out loud so there were many eyes looking at him with confusion. He ducked his head down and tried to look inconspicuous, there were already enough rumors about him in this company. 

 

Jaehyun straightened up and returned to flipping his eggs. 

 

“Oh. What’s the problem then?” He asked as he grabbed a salt and pepper shaker off of a rack.

 

_Salt doesn’t expire, does it?_

 

“Taeyong was supposed to come in today for a meeting but he’s not here. I’ve been looking for him _all_ morning and nobody’s seen him around,” Johnny explained. Jaehyun could hear the shutting of multiple doors and Johnny’s unmistakeable dress shoes scuffing through the carpet.

 

Jaehyun's expression or demeanor never changed as he continued to calmly sprinkle salt all over his almost done eggs. He hummed in understanding, signaling for Johnny to continue. 

 

“He always tells me if he’s going to be late or if he’s not feeling well… I’m worried. I know you guys are pretty close now so I was wondering if he’s contacted you? Or if you know where he’s last been?” Johnny’s voice was obviously concerned as he continued to fire off questions about his model friend. Taeyong wasn’t only someone he managed for, they both grew very close through the time they spent together. Hell, Johnny even met Taeyong’s mother and older sister. 

 

Jaehyun’s lips were pressed into a thin line as he concentrated particularly hard on placing his eggs on a plate. 

 

“Hmmm…” He continued to hum silently as if he were contemplating about it.

 

“Jaehyun?”

 

“No, I haven’t seen him around, but Johnny… seriously, don’t worry about it, he’s fine,” Jaehyun said, hoping that his close friend would just trust him on this without _too much_ questioning.

 

_Apparently, that wasn’t in Johnny’s vocabulary._

 

“He’s fine? Are you kidding me? Are you kidding _me_?! He trips on air and he doesn’t know how to use half of the functions on his phone! Just the other day, he bent down to pick something up and he said his back hurt. His _back_ hurt, Jaehyun! If Winwin is like five, he’s literally a 52 year old man stuck in a two year old body. Protect, Jaehyun! We must protect!” Johnny shouted hysterically. He didn’t even care about the people looking at him like he was a lunatic. 

 

Jaehyun coughed, and covered his mouth to hide the laugh that was bubbling up his throat. He couldn’t believe he was still friends with these people. 

 

“Johnny… man, listen…” Jaehyun thought carefully about his words, hoping they weren’t going to trigger Johnny _too_ much. 

 

“Taeyong! Has anyone seen Taeyong?! Hey you! Have you seen a really handsome dude with pink hair? He’s kinda smol and is usually seen spraying Febreeze around?” Johnny practically forgot he was on the phone with Jaehyun, asking anybody he came in contact with about the model. The more he thought about how clumsy and how much of a grandpa Taeyong was, the more he panicked. He shook his scared co-worker as he demanded for an answer. 

 

Jaehyun sighed and grabbed a bottle of strawberry milk out of his fridge as he waited for Johnny to finish and realize that he was still there. 

 

Johnny was so _extra._ And he’s met _Taeyong._

 

He was mid pour when the other boy finally remembered him.

 

“Jaehyun! Help me! What if he gets mugged or what if someone takes advantage of him?” Johnny calmed down enough to get back on the line, but the flurry of footsteps that stopped every so often to look behind a corner or door didn’t end.

 

“Johnny. Listen to me. I need you to stop right now before you _actually_ get a heart attack. Deeps breaths, man. In… out… in… out… there you go, you’re doing great.” Jaehyun guided Johnny through the phone. 

 

He was now making hash browns while counseling Johnny, he mentally patted himself on the back. It wasn’t an easy feat but he was familiar with Johnny’s mental breakdowns. He vaguely remembers a time in college when Johnny called him in the bathroom, sitting on a tiny toilet with a laptop on his lap, trying to finish a half-assed presentation due to procrastination. He remembers the older boy being close to tears talking about how he was going to be deported because he failed a _herbalism_ class. Jaehyun didn’t even know why he was taking the class if he was going into _management_. Jaehyun snorts at the thought, he remembers Johnny telling him that he knew at least five hippies due to just being in the class. 

 

“Do you think you’re okay enough to talk calmly now?” Jaehyun asked once Johnny had finished his brief breathing exercise.

 

“Yes…” Johnny breathed out as he leaned against a wall.

 

“Okay, listen to me. Taeyong is fine, Johnny. He’s fine, I know so. Trust me,” Jaehyun tried to re-assure him as best as he could.

 

“Taeyong’s fine, Taeyong’s fine, Taeyong’s totally fine, you know so, I trust you…” Johnny repeated. 

 

Jaehyun mentally counted down. 

 

_Three… two… one…_

 

He pulled his phone back from his ear. He was way too young to get a hearing aid. 

 

“WAIT A DAMN MINUTE. AND YOU KNOW THIS HOW?!” Jaehyun could have probably heard Johnny’s voice from a mile away. 

 

“I just know,” Jaehyun shrugged. He absentmindedly wondered if he could play dumb to get out of this.

 

“Jung Jaehyun. Do you know where he is? YES OR NO?” Johnny practically screamed. 

 

“I’m gonna go with _or,”_ Jaehyun said as he capped the bottle of milk. 

 

Jaehyun felt thin arms wrap around his chest and a small chin rest against his shoulder. For a moment, soft and swollen lips pressed against the back of his neck. His eyes crinkled and his dimples peeked out as he smiled. He couldn’t help but think that _some_ interruptions weren’t that bad, especially if it came in the form of Lee Taeyong.

 

“Goddamn it, I knew some fishy shit was going on ever since that party… Ya’ll are fuckin now huh?” Johnny’s voice was now less panicky and more subdued. He was just glad that Taeyong wasn’t in the streets wandering about on his own.

 

Jaehyun smirked and turned the stove off. He turned around and gave the smaller body a tight one armed hug. He nosed the other boy’s pink hair, loving that it smelled like _his_ shampoo. Taeyong’s face was completely bare of makeup products and Jaehyun was smitten with the look. In all honesty, he liked Taeyong in anything. Scratch that, he actually preferred Taeyong when he _wasn't_ in anything.

 

“Johnny, sweetie, it’s not called fucking, it’s called making _love_ ,” He said in a saccharine tone. 

 

Johnny made censorship worthy gagging noises as he and Taeyong silently cackled together on the other line. 

 

Taeyong grabbed the wrist of the hand that was holding his phone and pulled it down. He pressed his lips against the shell of Jaehyun’s ear and began to speak.

 

“Where’s my good morning kiss?” He whispered. He pulled back after a second or two but still had his hand wrapped around Jaehyun’s wrist. His lips were pulled back into a mischievous smile and his eyes glistened under the morning light that shined through Jaehyun’s giant, wall sized windows. 

 

Jaehyun grinned and granted him his wish (because really, how could he do anything else?). He was surprised to taste mint on the other boy’s lips but then he remembered that Taeyong packed like a mom and probably brought a spare toothbrush with him. He chuckled as he imagined Taeyong neatly folding and categorizing his belongings.

 

Pulling back, Taeyong pouted and was about to say something before Johnny’s loud voice came through the speaker. 

 

“EW. Oh my god, was that a fucking kiss I heard? And I thought that _Doyoung_ was the snake, Jaehyun you _weasel_ , when the hell did this happen? I mean I knew it was gonna happen either way because you guys literally _drool_ after each other, but how did I not know?!”

 

Taeyong rolled his eyes at Johnny and Jaehyun kissed his cheek. Taeyong was cute even when he was annoyed. 

 

Taeyong gestured at his phone and Jaehyun gave it to him. 

 

“Johnny, we’ll explain everything later, but _please_ not today,” Taeyong pleaded with his manager.

 

“Taeyong! Were you at Jaehyun’s the whole time?”

 

“No, I’ve been in Narnia the entire time, duh, I’m with Jaehyun.”

 

“Don’t sass me, mister!”

 

Jaehyun laughed, able to hear their conversation since he had his chin perched above the top of Taeyong’s soft head. 

 

“Okay, _dad_ , but seriously, I’m not coming in today, I could barely walk out of bed this morning,” Taeyong glared at Jaehyun as he said this. Jaehyun backed up a little, eyes filled with a little guilt. He _was_ a bit rough the night before.

 

“What? What happened, are you sick?”

 

This time, Jaehyun really did burst out laughing. Jaehyun and Taeyong both looked at each other in amusement. Sometimes, Johnny was as dense as a rock. 

 

“For fucks sake, Johnny, we had sex. You know, that thing where you do sexual intercourse with the person you love? You should try it sometimes. Oh, wait… I forgot, you haven’t even made a move on Ten yet. Sucks, but until then, I’m not telling you anything. Bye!” And with that, Taeyong gracefully hung up and put his phone on top of the marble counter.

 

Jaehyun’s jaw was slack. 

 

“I don’t know whether or not to be happy that you technically told me you loved me back, or to be mad that you said it to Johnny out of all people first… ” Jaehyun looked at his boyfriend in amazement. 

 

Taeyong grinned and pinched his cheek where his dimple was. 

 

“I remembered how you told me a month ago. You were so cute and mushy! You kissed my knuckles and told me about how beautiful you thought my eyes were and then you-“

 

Jaehyun shut Taeyong up with a kiss. 

 

“Tell me straight up,” Jaehyun said as he looked into his favorite pair of eyes. As much as he loved their silly banter, he _needed_ to hear it. At least once. _Twice_. _Fuck, a hundred times wouldn’t be enough._

 

Taeyong smiled and stood on his tippy toes to gently kiss Jaehyun’s forehead. 

 

“I love you, Whitie.”

 

Ignoring his hammering heart, Jaehyun groaned. “You really had to tack that on at the end?”

 

Taeyong crossed his arms and dramatically cupped a hand behind his ear. 

 

“What was that? I don’t hear an ‘I love you, too, _hyung,_ you’re so great, I don’t know what I would do without you-“

 

Jaehyun grabbed Taeyong forward so that the model’s face was rested against his chest. He tenderly held the other boy as he said his next words. 

 

“I love you, too, hyung, I don’t know what I would do without you by my side.” Jaehyun said affectionately. 

 

He bit his lip to keep himself from howling over in laughter. It wasn’t like he didn’t mean it or anything, he just absolutely _loved_ Taeyong’s reaction to cheesy shit. And what a reaction it was.

 

Once he saw Taeyong’s ears begin to get red and his shoulders twitch, he couldn’t help it anymore and _roared_ in loud booming laughter. His laughter rang throughout the kitchen as Taeyong tried to hide his face between his thin hands. 

 

“Ahhh… why are you doing this to me?” Taeyong mumbled behind his hands. 

 

Jaehyun chuckled and began to feel a little sympathetic. He grabbed Taeyong’s wrists and tried to pull them away from his face. He rested his forehead against the others, and took a moment to marvel in how heated and red Taeyong’s skin was. Knowing that he could make Taeyong like this with a simple phrase or touch made him feel lightheaded. 

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“No, you’re not. You’re just mean,” Taeyong said petulantly.

 

Jaehyun smiled as he kissed Taeyong’s tightly shut eyes. 

 

“You’re right.” Jaehyun moved on to his small nose. 

 

“You’re so mean to me, are you sure you love me?” Jaehyun dragged his lips to slot into Taeyong’s.

 

“More than anyone.”

 

“…”

 

“More than Ruby?”

 

Jaehyun paused. He got a whack in the chest because of it. 

 

“Yes! Yes! I’m saying yes!”

 

“You hesitated!”

 

“I can’t help it, your dog’s adorable.”

 

“Jung Jaehyun, you better be joking.” Taeyong narrowed his eyes at him.

 

Jaehyun snickered and wrapped his arms around the other. 

 

“You know, I am. Ruby’s cute but not as cute as you.”

 

As they stood there relishing and basking in each other’s warmth, Jaehyun couldn’t help but think of how far they’ve come. It’s been four months since he’s met Lee Taeyong, three months since they’ve started dating, and now five minutes since the model had told him he loved him. As his nose tickled soft light pink hair and his fingertips grasped naturally smooth skin, he couldn’t help but think of how good life was at that moment. 

 

“Hey, I think you’ve been spending too much time with Doyoung and Donghyuck. You literally flamed Johnny into a burnt potato when you hung up on him,” Jaehyun brought up as he swayed their bodies side to side comfortably. Red Velvet’s song had long passed in his stereo and 3am by HONNE was now playing. His mouth hurt from smiling too much at the thought of their playlists mixing.

 

“I felt kinda bad, but then again, Ten’s been really sad because of him, and you _promised_ me breakfast in bed, but now we can't have that…” Taeyong pouted and puffed his cheeks in irritation. He backed away from Jaehyun to inspect the neglected breakfast.

 

Jaehyun looked at Taeyong. With no Johnny to distract him, he could fully pay attention to his lover. The model was wearing an oversized, white collared shirt, obviously not belonging to him, and tiny black Calvin Klein boxers. The shirt was unbuttoned giving Jaehyun a full view of milky skin marked with red and purple hickeys. Jaehyun couldn’t help but think that the shirt looked much better on Taeyong then it ever did when he was wearing it. 

 

Jaehyun smirked.

 

“Then I’ll just have you.” He grabbed the now squealing boy over his shoulder and patted his butt. 

 

“Oh my god! Jaehyun! Put me down!” Taeyong loudly protested.

 

“That’s what you get for calling Johnny, daddy,” Jaehyun said.

 

Taeyong who was now upside down, gripped his pants tightly.

 

“I called him dad!”

 

“Saying it twice won’t help your situation, you know,” He said as he smacked Taeyong’s butt once again. 

 

He closed the bedroom door shut, leaving behind a now cold breakfast. 

 

His forgotten phone that was left behind on the kitchen counter lit up.

 

_Johnny: He better be able to walk his ass to the office tomorrow!_

 

It was safe to say that Jaehyun had to carry Taeyong all the way to the office the next day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i woke up today to jaeyong holding hands omgg
> 
> this is probably gonna be one of the few short chapters in this fic, but i hope you love it all the same. as much as i love long chapters, short chapters give me a better opportunity to review the quality of my work.
> 
> this was already planned bc i was thinking of making a one shot of what happened during the party ahahaha jaeyong wildin'
> 
> there's more progress in their relationship in this chapter bc the following chapters won't be so happy lmao actually, ch3 was supposed to be more angsty buttt for once i wasn't in an emo mood lol
> 
> thank you for reading !


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